Kasumi's Wedding
by SkyStrider
Summary: It's time to get ready for Kasumi and Tofu's wedding! There's a lot to do and a short time to do it, but the Bride must confront some serious questions about herself and the Groom's past is coming back to haunt him. Our Couple and their friends must also deal with the fallout from the "Baptism." Part of the Bindings (Kasumi's Fate) Continuum.
1. The Seer

A/N: There are two stories in one here. The first covers from the the aftermath of the Bachelor Party until the first wedding (in the Courthouse) and focuses on Tofu and Kasumi dealing with some emotional and professional baggage. The second covers the more public wedding ceremony performed by Lord Jakaro and features the off-the-wall action surrounding that event. I thought about splitting them up, and might yet, but we'll see.

Keep in mind that "The Other Side of the Looking Glass", "Gifts", "Baptism", and "Elemental" are happening concurrently.

BTW: Character summaries are in my profile now.

* * *

Chapter 1: The Seer (Thursday – 12/19/02)

Kasumi woke up with a start. She sat up in bed trying to place what was going on. Then she heard her bedmate move and two arms slid around her waist, pulling her back against her fiancé. "Are you all right, Love?" Tofu asked.

"Physically and mentally? Yes," Kasumi answered.

"But not spiritually?" he prodded.

"No, something's up," she replied. "I need to take a look around."

Tofu sighed. "At four in the morning? Everyone's in bed still."

"Best time to look around, wouldn't you say?" she responded.

"You haven't prepared. You should not go Spirit-Walking without preparation," he countered.

"It's not spirits that woke me – it's Echoes."

He sighed again. Kasumi needed to catch the Echoes before they faded away. "Such is the lot of a Seeress's husband," he grumbled as he got out of bed.

She flashed a smile at him. "I did not ask for this," she reminded him. "I was happy to just be a Healer."

"Oh, and like this was my doing…" he shot back.

Tofu crossed the room and reached into his bag. He took out two candles and some matches. Then he looked around the room until he found two tea cups on the end table. "These will do," he said placing the candles into the cups.

"They're lopsided," Kasumi noted.

"I'll hold them upright," he told her.

"You'll get burned!" she protested.

"I'm a Fire Mage, remember?" he said with a roll of the eyes.

"A Fire Mage who needs matches?"

"I'm a *tired* Fire Mage," he grumbled. With that, he climbed back into the bed. "Come here," he ordered. Kasumi nested against him. Tofu assumed his Kitsune Spirit Form and then lit the candles. "All right. One bodyguard reporting for duty," he told her.

"Then let's See what's going around…" she said.

* * *

The Winter Solstice was only three days away, and there was none of the power build-up the Sprite expected. Why were her Siblings not preparing to wage war and free her? All right, she had betrayed them to Henna to escape some pain, but that was water under the bridge. It wasn't like they wouldn't have done the same to her. Besides, regardless of how they felt about each other, the Siblings had a responsibility to the Earth, and none of them would want Henna to remain in control.

She really didn't understand it – she had planned everything so carefully. Her Siblings freed themselves as expected and performed the Summoning back in September; the whole Earth shook when that occurred. They should be nearing their peak of power at the Solstice, but the Sprite couldn't find them anywhere. It was…unsettling.

She went to the back of her tank again and created a Viewing Sphere. Once more, she zoomed in on Nerima. With practiced ease, she found Akane and Ranma. Of course, it was easy to locate them right now – in Japan, it was mid-morning and the teenagers were in school. She studied both of them from every angle. "Why are they alive?" she wondered. "Both of them should have been consumed by the Summoning. I thought maybe Kaze and Hinote were running around in their shapes, but unless my Brothers have suddenly become hormonal human teenagers, that isn't happening."

The Sprite shifted the view to look at Unryü farm. Ryoga was working with another farm hand to repair a tractor in the barn. "Granted, Daichi was always into fertility rituals, but she was never as involved in them as Ryoga is every night," the Sprite thought. "If she's draining Akari, the girl shows no sign of it. If Ryoga, Akane, and Ranma are all whole, where the hell are my Siblings?"

The sound of singing snapped the Sprite out of her worrying. An annoyed look crossed her face. "Great," she thought sarcastically. "Henna's in a good mood. That means she just killed someone." She listened as the singer apparently came into the bathroom, stripped, and sunk into the main bath. Since Ba, Henna's personal Grim Reaper, hadn't followed Henna back into the bathroom, that meant the demon didn't think there was any chance of Henna dying anytime soon. "More bad news…" the Sprite thought.

The Sprite sulked in her tank for a quarter of an hour before curiosity finally got the better of her. She edged forward slowly so as to not tip off Henna. Carefully, the Elemental peered out of her tank and studied Henna sunk up to her neck in the hot water. Henna appeared to be a beautiful Amazon woman of about 30, except for the streak of white hair running through her black from her forehead, over her scalp, and down the back of her long hair. The streak had widened a little over the last six months as the course of events had stressed Henna. The witch had her eyes closed in contentment as she sang softly. Even though she was sure Henna hadn't noticed her, the Sprite kept her expression carefully neutral. She would never give Henna the satisfaction of seeing how much the Sprite hated her captor.

"I know you're there," Henna said, interrupting her song mid-chorus. "I own you. You cannot hide from me."

The Sprite decided not to deny it. Instead, she asked sweetly: "And how many people did you butcher today? Are you going to bathe in their blood later?"

"A trick that I learned from you," Henna said unruffled.

"Ah, but I left the donors alive – much easier to get more blood later," the Sprite replied.

"Yes, but I prefer to eat the whole soul at once instead of nibbling on it," Henna answered sweetly. "It's just yours I nibble on… Oh wait, that's right, you don't have a soul – must be why you nibble on others. Tell me, slave, what is it like when the cattle rise up and feed on you instead?"

The Sprite ignored that. Instead, she asked: "You didn't answer the question, Henna. How many people did you butcher today?"

"And you didn't answer mine," Henna noted coyly. "But just to be a polite host, I'll answer yours: Just one, dear morsel – just one." Henna laughed languidly. "You can stop looking at Nerima now…your plots and plans are over."

The Sprite hesitated for a fraction of a moment as a shiver ran down her spine. "What are you talking about?" the Sprite asked.

"This is my domain – you're my property. I know everything that goes on. I know you've been looking at Nerima. You see, my destroyer is supposed to be there – isn't she?" Henna purred.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," the Sprite snapped. She was annoyed at getting caught using a seer spell. She was also very frightened.

Henna got out of her bath looking very smug. She stretched her perfect body with a self-satisfied gesture and then looked back at the Sprite as she walked to get clean robe from a cupboard. "By the way, the boy – 'Pathkeeper' his name was? – The boy is dead. You gave him his name just in time for me to take it away from him. One of the Guides of Jusenkyo gave him up – and all your plans – in lieu of being sent to Hell. I drank the water you gave him – you're Essence is doubly mine now. There will be no escape for you now."

"You killed Pathkeeper today?" the Sprite asked quietly.

"No," Henna smiled as she put the robe on. "I killed him a week ago. I killed Shampoo today – I got the pleasure of issuing the 'Anathema' spell all by myself. Those old hags on the Amazon Council decided Shampoo deserved severe punishment, but couldn't bring themselves to do it. So I did, and they wouldn't – or couldn't – stop me."

"Then she isn't dead yet…" the Sprite mumbled.

Henna laughed. "There is no escape from 'Anathema'," she jeered. "You know that. Shampoo is dead. Her spirit will reside in Hell – ironically for almost damning Mousse – by the end of two months. Whatever destiny Shampoo was to have is over." The witch walked over to the tank. Quicker than lightning, Henna's hand shot out and phased through the glass, grasping the Sprite by the throat tightly. She lifted the Sprite up to eye level. "I've figured out all your riddles you see. *You* are the enemy whose face you could not see. You planned my destruction and your escape. You were also hoping to release your Siblings from their imprisonment and have them attack me, but the Summoning failed in that regard. Your Siblings are indeed dead. Instead, you unleashed total chaos. The Oracle spell no longer works. The Earth models no longer function. All the fortunetellers are out of work. Nerima is a wasteland of power. Without direction, it will fester and explode, taking Japan with it. Congratulations! You've destroyed a country – something I only aspire to do."

Henna threw the Sprite to the back of the tank with enough force to shake the room and laughed again. "My 'replacement' is dead. Your Siblings are dead. You are dying. I will own this Lawless world and Hell can wait forever for my soul!" With that, Henna turned and walked to the white stone staircase. Laughing, she ascended to the main level.

Back in the tank, the Sprite massaged her sore throat. "She struck at me and didn't suffer any ill effects! She did drink from the bottle I gave Taro! How the hell did he know?" she wondered out loud in shock.

* * *

Taro stood there for some time looking at the gravestone. It was marked very simply with the word 'Pathkeeper'. "I thought that was my name," he muttered quietly.

Xiam, one of the Jusenkyo Guides, answered him: "No, only the Council can give you your name. That was the deal."

Taro pointed at the stone. "He died in my place."

"No," Xiam disagreed. "He volunteered to die a quick death instead of the slow death his cancer gave him. When Henna issued the Death spell, Pathkeeper accepted his death with peace."

"He still died in my place," Taro insisted.

"Then you can live in his place!" Xiam shot back. "Don't let his death be in vain!"

Taro clenched his jaw for a few moments and then growled: "I told you I was in. And I am."

"Good," Xiam said satisfied. He handed Taro a large jar of murky green water. "Here, you next job is to guard this."

"How much is still here?" Taro asked as he accepted the bottle.

"Most of it," Xiam answered. "Henna got a little bit – just enough for flavoring. When the potion starts to fail, she'll just think that the Sprite's Essence is fading from everywhere."

"And the rest of it?" Taro asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Tofu Kitsune has some of it in Nerima," Xiam told him. "But he doesn't know what it is."

"Fem-boy is involved in this, isn't he?" Taro asked – it wasn't really a question.

"Ha!" the Guide laughed. "If you're going to call him that, you might as well call him 'Cat-fox-pig-fish-phoenix-dragon-wind-fire-rock-girl-boy'."

"Naw, I get more mileage out of 'fem-boy'…" Taro smirked.

* * *

Ranma stood on Mount Terror watching the sun go down and listening to the Wind. He had told Akane and Mousse where he was going (since they were going to find out anyway) and asked them to stay put. He told them that he needed to get away from the Nexus for a few hours. Actually, the Nexus didn't really bother him, but the things coming *out* of swirling maelstrom sometimes did. "It's hard to hear my own thoughts when I can hear everyone else's all jumbled together," he said in the silence of his mind.

 _"It will get better once the Solstice passes,"_ a young voice inside him answered.

"Rera?" Ranma thought.

" _Who else?"_ Rera said cheekily.

"I don't know…I'm not sure whose thought I'm going to hear next," Ranma replied.

 _"It's only temporary. It will be gone before Christmas. Listening to music will keep things to a minimum and allow you to study,"_ Rera told him.

"Are you doing this?" Ranma asked the mischievous entity that shared spiritual space with him.

" _No. I don't like the noise anymore than you do,"_ Rera answered. _"You're just a little too tied into Nerima and the power flows peak at the Solstices and Equinoxes. And I'm not into playing with your mind – I'm sort of fond of you,"_ the young spirit laughed.

Ranma asked with a raised eyebrow: "Could you've told me this before I left Nerima?"

 _"Perhaps,"_ Rera replied teasingly, but then his tone turned serious. _"But I wanted to give you time to practice as well."_

Now Ranma rolled his eyes. "Not you too!"

 _"Oh please,"_ Rera said with a little sarcasm. _"Tofu has been very busy with the wedding so he hasn't been leaning on you lately. You've been acting as more of a Master than a Student on the weekends. You've been working a lot with Akane, Mousse, Ryoga, and now Akari. That's all fine and good, but you've got a ways to go too, and the Storm is getting closer."_

Ranma sobered up. "How close?" he asked.

 _"This coming year. I think things will hold together for another three months, but after that, it's anyone's guess. You need to be ready,"_ Rera answered.

"I'm getting pretty good at the Wind Magic," Ranma commented.

 _"It's easy to be good when you only have to make a half-hearted effort,"_ Rera shot back.

"Bullshit!"

 _"Bullshit yourself! Try and reverse the breeze, grandstander!"_ Rera challenged.

The breeze was coming out of the north. Ranma closed his eyes and reached into the air with his mind. He immediately encountered more resistance than expected. He could feel Rera growing smug, so he re-doubled his efforts. Sweat broke out on his forehead and he ground his teeth. Slowly, the Wind bent to his will and reversed direction. It was only a limited effect over an area of about half a kilometer, but he got it. "Did it!" he exclaimed.

 _"One… two… three… four…"_ Rera began counting.

"You little…" Ranma started, but had to stop as he felt the breeze slow down. He concentrated again, ignoring Rera's counting. When Rera hit twenty-six, Ranma collapsed to kneel on the ground.

 _"Admittedly, I didn't think you'd make it to twenty, but you are stubborn if nothing else,"_ Rera said, again a little smugly.

"What the hell?" Ranma wondered breathing hard.

 _"Are you ready to listen now?"_ Rera asked.

Ranma blew out a big breath. "Fine. What's happening?"

 _"When you are in Nerima, you are bursting with power. You can pull from the Nexus, both consciously and unconsciously. You have access to an incredible amount of power. Up here, not so much. This is the part you need work at – drawing and shaping natural energies. That's what we have to fix if you want to be any good as an Elemental Mage,"_ Rera told him.

"So why don't I feel any weaker as a Martial Artist?" Ranma asked.

 _"Because it doesn't take nearly as much energy, and the energy for your Martial Arts tricks is easy to store. Also, the power arises from you directly – you, the Cats, and me somewhat… you're a corrupting influence. But for an Elemental mage, most of the power doesn't normally come from within. A mage manipulates existing energy using his power. He doesn't generate most of it normally,"_ Rera explained. _"In Nerima, it is really easy for you to draw in power."_

Rera paused then. Ranma could feel the setup coming – he could feel the little jackass smirking. _"Unfortunately, your Opponent doesn't live in Nerima. When you fight him, little apprentice, you have to go to him. He's not stupid enough to come to you."_

Ranma knew it for what it was, but he couldn't help taking the bait. "What?!" he yelled.

 _"Mages compete among themselves too. If nothing else, you know part of life is competition. The Wind Mage Lord sits on his hill waiting for his challenger. He's aware of you, but he's waiting for you to stop cutting your baby teeth."_

Ranma's eyes hardened. "Where is he?"

 _"You'll know when the time comes – if the time comes,"_ Rera answered glibly.

"START TEACHING, YOU LITTLE RUNT!"

* * *

Akari sat pensively in the soda shop waiting. She watched with a little trepidation as Akane rushed in the door. "Sorry I'm running late. Chorus Group took longer than expected!" Akane burst out.

She bounced into the chair opposite Akari breathlessly. It was obvious that Akane had run at full speed from Furinkan High. "The sonic booms are probably struggling to catch up," Akari thought with a sad little internal smile. Out loud, Akari said: "That's all right, Akane. You did warn me that you might be late. I've only been here five minutes."

Akane beamed a smile at her and Akari felt her resolve waiver a little. "Damn it," Akari thought. "It's so easy to like her. She lives on the absolute edge of her skin; every thought and emotion displayed. There's nothing artificial about her. I feel so pale next to her. I don't want to show any weakness, but I need her help."

Just then, the waiter came over and both young women ordered hot chocolate and a piece of chocolate mousse pie, something that made Akari feel a little better at having something in common with her tablemate. Akane rattled off a few things about the Chorus Group as she took off her coat – mostly about how good someone was and some of the rivalries that were there. Apparently Sayuri (the only name that Akari recognized) was competing for a soloist role in one of the songs against another girl. Akane was going to be a backup singer for Sayuri. That made Akari feel a little worse, "She's on the inside of everything that happens around here," Akari thought.

The waiter brought over their order and they started eating. "Anyway," Akane resumed just after she had eaten a bite of her pie. "You said you had something to ask. What's up?"

Akari took a deep breath and asked straight out: "Akane? Are we friends?"

Akane nearly dropped her fork. She caught it swiftly and looked up with surprised eyes. Akari could see a bit of hurt there as Akane looked at her, causing Akari to bite her lip a little. Akane's face ran thought a gamut of emotions until 'worry' won out and Akane reached across to grab Akari's hand. "Of course we are, Akari! What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry, but sometimes I feel like an outsider, or a hanger-on," Akari said softly. "You all seem to have your lives so together."

Akane looked at her with disbelief while still holding her hand. "I'm sorry. I must have misheard you. Is this the girl getting married in fourteen months who's been running a farm since she was thirteen? The same one who raises champion sumo pigs that have taken like a jillion competitions?"

Akari blushed and said: "I mean you all seem to know who you are and are so sure of yourselves."

Akane looked shocked now. Then she lay her forehead down on the table (while missing her snack). From that position, Akane said: "You *really* need to see Tofu about that selective memory." Despite herself, Akari raised her other hand to cover a small giggle. Akane looked up at her. "O.K., admittedly I behave myself a bit better when you're around – you have that effect on people – but I'm still me – the hothead jock who's still trying to figure out how to be a woman."

"But you always seem so together with clothes and make-up…" Akari pressed.

"I have two older sisters," Akane told her. "They help me with make-up the few times I use it. As for fashion, Sayuri and Yuka help me there – what I learned, I learned from them. I usually play it safe too – I'm not considered cutting-edge. Besides, you always look perfect!"

"I always look like a country-girl," Akari pouted.

"You look like a *well coordinated* country-girl," Akane corrected while straightening up. She was still holding Akari's hand. "Which is a really popular style with a lot of women here. You only use a little mascara and a bit of light blush…"

"I look like a country bumpkin," Akari cut her off. "I'm going to stick out like a sore thumb when Kasumi gets married in two weeks."

Akane looked at Akari in silence for a few moments and seem to understand what her friend was saying. "I don't think you should be anyone other than who you are," she said carefully. "But if you want to play with it a little, I don't see the harm either."

Akari took the opening. "Will you help me go shopping for a new dress for the wedding?" she asked.

"Yes, but I think we should ask Sayuri and Yuka to go with us," Akane replied.

"Do you think they will?"

Akane laughed. "That's like asking water to run downhill."

Akari smiled at that and relaxed. Akane smiled back and they both worked on their pie pieces for a few minutes. When they were done, Akane asked: "Akari, do you feel left out every now and then?"

Akari sighed and nodded. "You, Ranma, and Ryoga seem so close," she said simply. "You understand each other without saying a word."

"Well, in Ranma's and Ryoga's case," Akane started. "They are saying words without speaking - sometimes lots of them and I'm not sure we want to hear all of them. Hideo can and has yelled 'knock it off' on occasion. They really are brothers the way they pick on each other."

"What about you? Can you talk to them without speaking?" Akari asked curiously.

Akane shook her head. "No. Just after the Summoning, when we were all tangled together, I could hear what they were speaking before they said it – which was really annoying and I'm glad it faded – but I could never hear their thoughts. Ranma and I have tried, but it doesn't work. The three of us can always tell where each other are though and the general state of each other – emotions, health, things like that."

Akari nodded her head. "I know. Ryoga tells me to call Ranma when I can't find him," Akari said.

"You can also call me. And you can call Mousse," Akane told her.

Akari looked stricken. "Mousse is tied into you three as well?"

Akane grabbed her hand again. "Hey, hey… It doesn't mean you don't count – Mousse can find you as well."

"WHAT?"

"You consider Mousse a good friend, don't you?" Akane asked.

"Well, yeah. He is. But…" Akari started.

"I can't automatically find Mousse either," Akane said. "But he can find me. Actually, he can find anyone who cares about him if he concentrates. It's just part of who he is. But, there are some of us – 'The Family' he calls us, which includes you – he always knows where we are. Actually, he may be the best one to call, because he can tell you where Ryoga is in relation to you without even thinking about it."

"Whoa…"

Akane laughed at her surprised expression. "I'm sorry, Akari, but you are one of us. You're ours and we are yours. There's no hope for you now."

Akari blushed. Akane smiled, got up, and pulled Akari up as well. Then she gave Akari a hug until Akari returned it. "Thanks, Akane," was all Akari said.

Akane broke the hug and said: "Now, we need to go find Yuka and Sayuri and setup something for this weekend."

Akari nodded. She and Akane settled the bill and left the shop. She was feeling much better about everything, but she missed the thoughtful expression on Akane's face…

* * *

Tofu changed back to his human shape as Kasumi told him all that she Saw. He held her for a long time after she stopped talking. Finally, Kasumi asked: "What are you thinking about?"

"Many, many things," he answered. "The Sprite's deceptions are over, and she's been outwitted. Given her past dealings, I suppose this isn't a surprise. Our Enemy got the better of her before…" Tofu shrugged.

"So the game is not hers anymore?" Kasumi asked.

"No, but it still goes on. Someone is still moving the Chess pieces. Taro escaped, and so did a large portion of the Sprite's Essence. As Ranma's friend said, the Storm is still coming."

"And what game is he up to?" Kasumi asked.

Another shrug. "He's spotted a hole in Ranma's training. Now he's closing it. I need to do the same with the others. I think I need to buy a van to cart everyone around. I also may ask Ciren to rent a place for training outside of Nerima."

"Who's the 'Wind Mage Lord on the Hill'?"

There was no shrug this time. "I don't know…" Tofu sounded worried. "The nearest Wind Mage I know about is up in Hokkaido. He's an old man of about 80. He's good, but I don't know if I'd call him a Wind Lord."

"Do you think Ranma's friend is lying? Maybe just to motivate Ranma to try harder?" Kasumi wondered.

"No," Tofu said firmly. "He can't lie to Ranma. He's part of Ranma now." Tofu paused for a minute and then laughed a little. "He certainly knows how to motivate Ranma though. Ranma knew exactly what his friend was trying to do, and couldn't stop himself anyway." Kasumi felt him shake his head. "I still have a lot to teach Ranma about Pride."

Kasumi nodded her head in agreement and asked: "Who's he?"

"Which he?"

"The Sprite asked herself 'How the hell did he know?' after she mentioned Taro and the bottle. Who's he?" she repeated.

She felt Tofu shake his head again. "I have no idea," he answered. "I don't think she meant Taro. You got in and out without Henna noticing – at least as far as we know. Maybe the one moving pieces can also. Someone told the Sprite to give Taro a false name. Although I'm not sure she knew it was a false name, but then again, maybe she did. Best guess is she has a servant or an ally who is smarter than she is."

Kasumi held still for a few minutes in Tofu's embrace. Finally, she asked: "Why did Akane's and Akari's conversation cause an Echo? On the surface, it just sounded like one friend reassuring another."

"Now that's a good question," Tofu answered her. "I'm surprised to hear Akari doubt herself, but I suppose I shouldn't be. She's just a teenager like any other. Sometimes she seems so much older than the others, but she's not – she's almost exactly one year younger than Nabiki."

"Life hasn't been fair to her either," Kasumi agreed. "She has so much on her plate, even though she's been handling it well. Now she's getting married in a year. It causes certain stresses…"

Tofu hugged her. "Speaking from experience, Love?"

Kasumi tensed for a second and then let out a breath. "A little…" she agreed. "There's so much to do, and sometimes I feel like it's getting away from me."

"It's not," he reassured her. "Everything is fine. The lads' new rooms are ready. We've already moved you into this room. Nodoka has your old room. The catering is on track. The hall is booked and confirmed. Sanu will perform the legal wedding. Jakaro will perform the formal wedding. Your family is on-board. My family is on-board. Everyone gets along – we don't have any tedious In-law wars going on. Happosai is out of the country. It just doesn't get any better than this."

"That's the problem," she fretted. "It can only go downhill from here…"

"Shhh…Stop that," he scolded gently. "This particular moment can't be any better, but the next one will beat it anyhow. And the one after that will be even better. You'll see."

* * *

A/N: I've cleaned up my profile to reflect this new set of stories. Note that life has gotten very busy, so I cannot make a promise to publish once a week every Tuesday like I use to. This draft of the story is complete though so I'm hoping to keep the updates flowing as best I can based on feedback and my own satisfaction with any revisions.

Next up: The Wedding Dress


	2. The Wedding Dress

Chapter 2: The Wedding Dress (Saturday 12/21/02)

Kasumi looked in the mirror at herself in the finished dress. "I don't know," she said finally. "I think it's too expensive," she fretted.

Nabiki rolled her eyes. "It's paid for in full. No returns," the middle sister said. "Mother Ono took care of the bill."

"Well, it's too fancy for me! I can't do it justice," Kasumi declaimed.

"You're kidding, right?" Akane told her. "You're one of the prettiest women in Nerima and you look like a goddess in that gown. It's a perfect fit and suits your coloring completely. Every man in the temple will have their jaw hit the ground when you walk down the aisle. Tofu will be stunned."

"Well then," the bride-to-be said quickly. "I can't do that to him…"

Shizuka cut her off: "He's a soldier! He'll be fine. Besides, he's seen Hell – let him see Heaven."

"But it's just so extravagant looking!" Kasumi said helplessly.

Nodoka put down her cup of tea and sighed. Then she got up and gently held Kasumi's face in her hands. Kasumi burst into tears. "Love, it's a wedding," Nodoka said soothingly. "You will only get married once. It's suppose to be extravagant. Do you love Tofu?"

"Of course I do!" the eldest Tendo daughter cried.

"Then let this be a true celebration of your Love. Do you want to be anything less than perfect on that day?" Nodoka prompted gently.

"Of course not!"

"Then wear the dress. You thought it was perfect three weeks ago. The only thing that has changed is that you have a bad case of nerves. You're getting married in twelve days – most brides would be throwing tantrums or throwing up," Nodoka said with a smile. "Even now you're being a saint. There's a lot of pressure here and all we have to put up with is your insecurity and a few tears? Good lord, I wish I had your composure!"

Kasumi put her head on Nodoka's shoulder and cried. Nabiki grabbed a cloth to protect the dress from the bride's tears. Shizuka looked at Nodoka with more than a little bit of jealousy. Akane said surprised: "I've never seen her like this!"

Mrs. Takeda, the dressmaker, gave a small laugh and replied: "Actually, she's right on time. Behold 'Bridezilla' – or at least Kasumi's version. She'll be fine after a good cry." The dressmaker looked at Akane with a raised eyebrow and added: "When your time comes, I'll be wearing ear plugs under a set of ear protectors." Akane blushed.

"And have structural reinforcements placed on the building," Nabiki put in. Akane became a little redder.

"Don't forget to reinforce all the circuit breakers," Nodoka teased.

"All right! All right! I get the message!" Akane huffed.

Eventually the tears stopped and Kasumi took a good look at the dress. Despite the puffy face and the red eyes, Kasumi still looked gorgeous. "It's wonderful, Mrs. Takeda!" she burst out.

Mrs. Takeda nodded. "The fit is perfect. No need for anymore changes. Now, let's have you change back. Akane and Nabiki? Why don't you help?" The two young women nodded and helped guide Kasumi to the changing area. Mrs. Takeda followed them, but before she left the room, the dressmaker looked directly at Nodoka and gave a side-nod at Shizuka. Nodoka discreetly nodded back.

Shizuka stood watching the doorway after it was shut. Nodoka went to the tea table and poured herself another cup. Then she asked: "Would you like a cup of tea, Shizuka?"

"How do you do that?" Shizuka burst out.

"Do what?" Nodoka asked innocently while pouring a second cup of tea.

"Get her to act like you're her mother!" Shizuka added with a touch of anger.

"She's not acting like I'm her mother. I could never replace Kimiko Tendo and I don't even try. I've acted like her aunt, and she's responded to it – a girl can have multiple aunts after all," Nodoka answered. She gave Shizuka a penetrating look. "You've acted like her sensei and her best friend – at least her female best friend. That's how she thinks of you; that's why you're the Matron of Honor and not me." That brought Shizuka up short. Nodoka went on: "We can't be all things to all people."

Nodoka walked over and handed Shizuka the cup of tea. Shizuka gave her a sour look as she accepted the cup. "I almost prefer you when you were out-of-your-mind," Shizuka griped.

Nodoka gave her a smirk and then sobered up. "Look," Nodoka said. "Are we really going to have a turf war over the wedding day of one of the sweetest women on the planet? That's not fair to her now. This is her day, not ours. You knew Kimiko much better than I did. Would she want us to do that to Kasumi?"

Shizuka sighed. "Of course not," she admitted.

"So, you're the Matron. The duties of the mother will be shared by me, Kin, Akane, and Nabiki most of all. Between the four of us and with your help, we should be able to get Kasumi to the altar. That's what counts, isn't it?"

Another sigh escaped Shizuka. "You are younger than I am, Nodoka. Why are you sounding so much older?" Shizuka complained.

"Hey, I've been crazy for a long time," Nodoka protested. "I'm due!"

Shizuka sniffed a little laugh. "All right, I'll behave," she promised.

"Friends?" Nodoka asked and held out her hand.

Shizuka brushed the hand aside and hugged the other woman instead. "We are already friends, Nodoka. You should see how I treat my enemies," Shizuka laughed.

* * *

Tofu looked over his three companions. "The hat goes, Daran!" he said sharply. The dark-skinned man sighed and took off his hat. He gave the fedora a shake and it became a flat piece of cloth. Daran then folded the cloth and put it in his pocket carefully.

"Take off the sunglasses, Ranma. I know it's bright out, but let me see your face and hair," the doctor pressed. Ranma did as requested, but he had to half-close his blue cat-eyes. The cat spirits were very curious concerning everything about the wedding. They had decided to tag along to the tuxedo fitting. "Hmmm…" Tofu said. "I guess the pig-tail doesn't look out of place. I give up; it's your call whether to wear a pony-tail or a pig-tail." The young man hissed a sigh of relief.

"Can I keep my beard, then?" Olaf asked. The Norwegian giant (in more ways than one) had grown a short blond beard over the last few weeks.

"Yes, it suits you," Tofu admitted. "Honestly, you tower over all of us so much that you could braid it and it wouldn't look out of place."

"That's all right. I'll keep it short, thank you very much," Olaf laughed.

"All right, let's see how we look together," the groom ordered, gesturing for everyone to stand in front of a large mirror. They complied and the Doc looked at the four of them. "Perfect!" Tofu exclaimed.

"And humans say cats finicky," Ranma hissed. The other groomsman and the Best Man just laughed.

"Hey, I'm only getting married once. I want to try for perfection. Hopefully I'll get close," Tofu said smoothly.

Daran pulled out his hat and tapped it back into shape. "So, you asked Tomo to be a Page?"

"I didn't ask him. Jakaro ordered Tomo to be a Page," Tofu said with a smirk. "He'll be on best behavior – especially since Lord Jakaro will be performing the ceremony. Besides, it's traditional in Kitsune weddings to have a young Kitsune in the wedding party to guard against supernatural intruders."

"Why Pest not here?" Ranma asked.

"He's wearing a traditional kimono instead," Tofu answered.

"I still think you're asking for trouble, even with Jakaro standing over him," Olaf said.

"Hinako will be with him in her child form as a Flower Girl. She'll keep an eye on him," Tofu said.

"And who will keep an eye on her?" Daran asked.

"It will be fine. Jakaro is arranging for two kimonos. The clothing will be enchanted to fit properly should either one of them change shape," the doctor explained.

"Definitely an optimist," Olaf rumbled with a laugh.

"Not so much – One of the settings will be a strait-jacket," Ono said smugly.

The tailor walked into the room and asked: "Is everything fine?"

"Yes, it's great," Tofu answered. "We will pick these up on the morning of the 31st."

"Very good, sir," the tailor responded. "Anything else?"

"Yes, my brother is next!" Tofu's arm shot out and pointed at the young Chinese man standing out-of-the-way. Mousse sighed. "He needs a proper suit for the wedding. His last one was destroyed back in February. While I'll admit some of his Chinese robes are suitable for good occasions, he's going to be very visible at my wedding. He will wear a suit!"

"Anyone ever tell you that you're a little obsessive with the details?" Mousse asked.

"Welcome to our world," Daran grinned. Ranma just smirked.

* * *

After another half an hour, Ranma led the way out of the tailor's – only to have Nabiki hit him with a glass of water. He, now she, felt the cats retreating, but the animal spirits were also chuckling. "What was that for?" Ranma complained as she stood in her gi.

Akane grabbed one of Ranma's arms and Shizuka grabbed another. "It's back to Takeda's now," Akane grinned.

"What?" the red-head asked confused.

Kasumi stepped behind Ranma and grabbed Ranma's shoulders, pushing in the direction of Takeda's. "You need a dress, dear sister-in-law. Let's go."

Ranma dug in, only to have Daran and Mousse sweep her legs out from under her and start to carry her away. The girl protested loudly: "But I'm wearing a tuxedo for the groom's side!"

"And the chance of you avoiding water during the wedding or the reception is zero," Tofu said. "You will not appear in over-sized clothes or wear a gi at my wedding." Ranma stretched her neck to see Tofu and Olaf ready to reinforce Akane and Shizuka. "Mousse will be properly dressed, and so will Ranko," the doctor added firmly. "You should set aside plenty of preparation time."

"Oh come on! What's my Mom going to say about her "manly" son?" Ranma pled.

"That only a true man could wear such a feminine dress without a hint of self-consciousness," Nodoka told him as stepped up from behind and marched with Daran. Kasumi walked along side of Mousse with Nabiki leading the way.

As Ranma's four bearers hoisted her up on their shoulders, Akane stole a kiss to the cheek. "It was a good try," the brown-eyed young woman told Ranma.

* * *

Ranma finally escaped from Takeda's dress shop. Akane was laughing at the young woman's expression. "Does it really have to have so much lace?" Ranma burst out.

"It's for a wedding, dummy," Akane smirked. "Of course it does."

"Mom was enjoying herself way too much!" Ranma complained. "I felt like a Barbie doll!"

"Now you know how me and my sisters feel when she 'tags' along with us!" Akane laughed. "It only takes about five minutes, and then she's in charge. If we need practical clothes, we have to sneak out and buy them."

Ranma groaned. "At least I managed to get her to back off on the underwear. It's straight-forward enough that I should be able to merge everything into the shape-change."

Akane looked thoughtful. "But the frilly dress doesn't bother you?" she asked.

"Naw," Ranma said with a dismissal wave of the hand. "It's just a costume. It's not as 'personal' as the underwear."

Akane pursed her lips. "All right, I can see that," she said. "Where to now?"

Ranma pulled Akane into an alley, pressed the other girl up against a wall, and gave her a fierce kiss. Akane gave her full attention to the kiss until Ranma stopped. The two touched foreheads and smiled at each other. "Let's see," Ranma started. "The doc paid me yesterday for two weeks of work, I'm pretty decent on my Christmas shopping, date night is on hold until after the wedding, and both of us are wearing the snazzy new outfits Mom just bought us. I think a mini-date until dinner is in order – like maybe the ice cream shop?"

"Ice cream in December?" Akane teased.

"There's no bad month for a parfait," Ranma grinned. "You can have a hot chocolate and a piece of cake or cookie. My treat!"

"You're on!"

A couple of hours later, Ranma (male again) and Akane were shopping in a manga and music store for Nabiki's present and some decorations for Ranma's new room. The new bedrooms for Ranma and Mousse were almost finished. The dojo basement had been re-done using some of the settlement money from Toshio Kuno for the wedding disaster last February. The two young men were moving there after Tofu's and Kasumi's wedding. Personally, Ranma was looking forward to his own space, something he had never had before. He was also looking forward to having somewhere to take Akane which was not next to Nabiki's room.

As they were looking at an Inuyasha poster (Akane had talked Ranma out of the strobe lights), they both felt Sasuke enter the store, despite the fact they could not see him. So, they were not surprised when he appeared in front of them. "Better and better," Ranma told him.

The little ninja looked slightly disappointed though. "You knew I was near?" he asked.

"Yes," Akane answered. "But I couldn't pinpoint your location." She glanced at Ranma who only nodded his head in agreement. "So, not too shabby," she said. Sasuke shrugged and accepted the compliment without any more words. "What's up?" Akane asked.

"My master wanted me to warn you to keep a low profile until the wedding. Tatewaki Kuno is currently in jail, but Master Toshio doesn't think he'll be staying there long. He said there was magic afoot, something you two would understand. Master Toshio said you should be able to stay out of the way if you were aware. Don't get curious, he advised. Just tend to business."

"All right, but if any of 'ours' gets involved, so will we – that includes our neighbors," Ranma said.

"We will not back down if challenged either," Akane warned.

Sasuke laughed. "Master Toshio is aware of who you are. He said the wedding should keep you busy anyway. He's hoping you won't be involved at all; he just doesn't want you blind-sided if something goes wrong."

"Fair enough," Ranma said. Akane agreed as well.

Sasuke nodded his head. "Good. I have work to do. I'll be about later."

Akane put her hand on Sasuke's shoulder, forcing him to pause for a second. "By the way," she started. "Kasumi has promised to ice your tree if you are not there for Christmas dinner."

"I'm supposed to be spying on your family – not part of it," the little ninja protested.

Ranma shrugged. "It's Christmas," he pointed out. "Just suck it up and be there, and don't bother trying to appeal to Mom. She's already placed the hose at the bottom of your tree."

(A/N: A little bit of a tie in to "The Other Side of the Looking Glass" and "Gifts" which are happening concurrently.)

* * *

Rera sat in the Cat Temple looking at a Viewing Sphere. He grinned as Ranma was carried to Takeda's. It might be fun to go 'top-side' and see this first hand, but he decided his 'big brother' didn't really need the company. Besides, the viewing was better here. As he watched, there were popping sounds as the Temple began to fill with purring and chirping cats – a sound Rera had learned to associate with feline laughter. One of them came over to him and began to meow at him. "Yes, I saw," he answered. "And it was very funny." The cat purred and chirped again, then ran off to play a game with its brothers and sisters.

Rera watched for another hour as Nodoka tortured her son until Ranma finally escaped accompanied by a laughing Akane. With a stretch, he got up and made the sphere vanish. Then he went downstairs and stepped onto the tri-temple plaza. He looked out over Ranma's Spiritual Realm and noted the clear blue sky with no clouds, reflecting Ranma's content state. Sometimes the clouds and sky would reflect Ranma's night dreams (if Ranma was not actually present in this Spirit realm), but there were not even daydreams present right now. The plaza itself was a mix of stone and plant gardens arranged in a complex symmetrical pattern. In the center of the plaza was a fountain with a statue on a pillar in the middle of the pool. The statue was of Akane dressed in a gi, although the girl was posed somewhat provocatively with the gi off her shoulders. This was something Akane had arranged when she was in Ranma's Spirit/Dream realm once.

Rera looked around satisfied at the three temples (the other two being Yang and Yin) with their connecting walkways. There were signs of repairs here and there where board or stone was new, but everything was safe and sound. "You can't get through life without a few wounds," he thought. "But you're supposed to heal and go on. Ranma finally has. So has Akane."

He walked over to a bench under a small shade tree and conjured the Viewing Sphere again. Rera then skimmed through various parts of the world looking for the tell-tale cracks of the Storm brewing. "Damn it," he swore. He still couldn't get a better prediction. "Well, at least Ranma is moving. I thought he'd tell Akane and Ryoga, but Doctor Ono beat him to it. I'm not sure how Ono found out, but at least he's on my side. Still, I need to watch and find the leak though."

Rera checked on other people he was concerned about while scanning for Ono's information source. Akari's power was blossoming causing some self-doubts, but her friends were working with her. Ryoga was his usual sober self – the idiot melancholy and self-absorption was lost in the defeat of the Oni before Rera and his Siblings arrived on the scene. Rera grinned at the chaos heading for Mousse, but he knew that the young Chinese man would be just fine. Ukyo and Konatsu were healthy and unlikely to change for now. Kasumi was….

"Oh ho!" he said to himself. "There's a yellow tint to her Chi - she's not just a Healer." He stared at her longer. "I have a Seer on my hands," he said definitively. "I'm not sure how I missed it before, but that's how Ono probably found out." He thought about that longer and decided that this was not a problem, but he was going to have to be a little more transparent than usual. "I may need to talk to her directly. If I bring her here like I did with the Fiancée Brigade, Ono might think I'm kidnapping her. I can't have that, so I may have to have Ranma act as a go-between. I need to think about that more, but there's time."

Satisfied that he had the answer, he finished checking on others and then paused for a moment with the Viewing Sphere sitting in his lap. Finally, he picked it up again and sent the view across the Sea of Japan deep into China. He located the cliff-side palace of Henna and changed the view until an image of the Sprite appeared as she lay despondent in her tank. He stared at her for a long time without smiling, and then made the Viewing Sphere disappear. Even long after the sphere was gone, he continued to stare at his hands. Finally he spoke out loud to himself: "Kaze, Hinote and Daichi are dead, Sister – and you killed them. You imprisoned me for over 800 years to feed that witch and spare you some pain. Then you conspired with others to use a corrupted Sacrifice to free me, killing me in the process. I was saved by being Bound to a young mortal. I was like a fly trapped in amber – I couldn't move, I couldn't think – I could only feel what Ranma felt. I intimately lived a mortal's life for over six months until events were manipulated to free me and our Siblings."

Rera stopped for a second and pulled his knees up against his chest, hugging himself tight. "We knew what we had to do then. We had to free the Earth from Henna. We performed the Summoning to end this Cycle and start the Next. But we were too weak. We started to Unravel in the power stream – we had lost too much of ourselves to Henna and she had burned it up." He hugged himself tighter. "I can never forget that feeling of losing myself – my personality that I had carefully built up across eons just fading away. I almost vanished completely." He closed his eyes and his body shook as he tried to get control of himself.

After an endless moment, he steadied himself and opened his eyes again. "That's when he grabbed me. Ranma thought I was part of himself and he reached out for me. Even when he recognized that I was something separate, he didn't let go. He held on tight so I wouldn't be blown apart and I clung to him. Through him, Akane and Ryoga recognized my two Siblings and grabbed hold as well. Three mortals trying their hardest not to die in that Inferno, and they still instinctively tried to help us."

Rera stared at the sky. "Ranma goes one step further; he doesn't try to enslave me, just gives me a place to be. Ranma and I are born of the same spirit – Wind. That's why he thought I was part of him. I fit in here and draw strength from his body and his connection to the Nexus. I start to grow again, but I'm different this time. I've lost a lot and all I have is Ranma, so I end up modeling myself after him. The end result is I am different – I am Rera." He smiled a little now. "Of course, same thing happened to Hinote and Daichi, except they end up changing genders as well because of who they Bind to. So now they are Apay and Suma."

He grew serious then and his face took on a resolute look. "So, the Storm is coming. Ranma's Spirit gives me a safe base of operations. No one – especially Henna – can find me here. I'm growing strong again and I've started to rally the Air Spirits. Soon I'll be the Wind King again. When the Cycle changes, I'll be the Winter Sprite again too."

He stood up then. "I can't help you Sister. I'm not sure I should, even if I knew how. You're going to have to take your medicine, whatever it may be. I'm going to concentrate on saving the rest of the World. And I'm also going to help my Humans – and the rest of Nerima survive. I owe them that at the very least." With that, he turned and walked away to check on the other two Temples.

* * *

Apay sat in her room watching Akane and Ranma shop for a while, enjoying their peace. Then she sighed and made the Viewing Sphere vanish. "Time to go to work," she thought. She jumped up from her bed and left the room - one that she had modeled on Akane's room. On the other side of the door, was a staircase that ascended through a night sky full of brightly shining stars. The staircase had no handrails (or means of support for that matter), but this did not bother the Spirit. Truth-be-known, this was just a buffer zone she maintained between Akane's soul and her own - both of them were very private people and needed the spiritual space - every once in a while that is. She climbed to the top of the stairs and opened the door into the Museum.

As she walked into the hall, she saw herself in a mirror hanging on the opposite wall. A young Akane Tendo looked back. Like Rera, the Sprite had modeled herself on her host – if Akane was ten years old. The woman and the Spirit had the same blue-black hair and the same warm brown eyes. While Akane's body had matured to be a woman's body, Apay's body belonged to a sturdy child. She wore a yellow sundress, a preference she had picked up from Akane.

She smiled at her reflection and walked down the warm, wide hallway. Along the walls were some of Akane's more "public memories"; things that she would share with friends - paintings of scenic places Akane had seen, bookcases containing her favorite books, video screens playing her favorite movies, and photos of memorable events. There were other halls and rooms off of the main one, but these were more private. Akane had taken Apay into many of them, and the Sprite had snuck into others, but even Apay knew there were some that were off-limits - and they should stay so.

Apay walked down a marble staircase and out an open door. Beyond the door was a lovely garden with a wide, well-manicured lawn. There were pretty flower beds here and there. Above, the sky was a perfect blue with fluffy white clouds. Apay walked across the garden and hopped up on a split rail fence. Beyond the fence, fields of grain stretched away to distant mountains. The girl seated herself facing the fields, held up her hands about 30 cm apart, and began concentrating.

Something wispy began to form between her hands. Threads seemed to spin out of nowhere and weave themselves together. Soon a single page formed. It looked very old, like something from an ancient text, but it was blank. "You destroyed all the ancient knowledge, Henna," Apay whispered. "You ransacked libraries and hunted down Fire Mages to get rid of anything that might be used against you. You even reduced me enough that I forgot basic magic - like how to make a Circle. So I encouraged Akane to ask Tofu about practical magic. She had seen how useful a Circle was for providing barriers and protecting people - a keen interest of hers. Tofu showed her the basics of Warding and Protections, figuring it couldn't do any harm - which was correct as far as Akane and he were concerned. But through his teachings, I recovered the basics. He also incidentally showed Akane - and me - the location of his Grimoire - which contained very advanced Magic. One Viewing Sphere later, and I recovered a lot of my missing information."

Apay looked at the page floating between her hands and nodded at it. Ink began to flow across the page forming ancient words. She continued, her words weaving a purpose into the page: "But some Fire Magic is at the very core of my Being. If any part of me exists, then it can be recalled. And the deeper that Knowledge, the more potent the power, the more likely I am to still have it, even if I can't understand it - until now." The page began to glow. "And now, dear Usurper, I'm about to share that knowledge with the World again." At that, the page vanished.

* * *

A/N: Next up: In the background...


	3. In The Background

Chapter 3: In the Background

Sunday 12/22/02:

Nodoka was sitting in her armchair working on a Nuido piece when Nabiki walked into the family room with lunch for two. Kasumi was in the dojo receiving lessons from Tofu and Hideo. Ranma, Ryoga, and Mousse were off somewhere downtown. So was Soun who was at a meeting. Akane and Akari were shopping for a dress for Akari.

The middle Tendo daughter handed Nodoka a plate and received an appropriate thank you. Nabiki then sat on the couch and ate her own lunch in silence while browsing through a magazine. When the young woman had finished, she sat down her plate, balled up her paper napkin, and tossed it at the older woman. The napkin bounced lightly off the side of Nodoka's head.

"Yes?" the mother answered without looking up, although she did have a small smile on her face.

"Eat your lunch," Nabiki told her. "And tell me what's up with Kasumi."

Nodoka looked over at Nabiki and chuckled quietly. "You're the observant one. You tell me."

"Some Brides get wedding jitters. Some Grooms get wedding jitters. Sometimes lots, sometimes little. Kasumi does not get wedding jitters," Nabiki pushed.

Nodoka gave another smile. "How do you know? She's never been married before. Many people do. I've known two different Grooms who manage to literally worry themselves sick - there was a bucket standing off to the side of the temple during both ceremonies. I've seen Brides have wholesale explosions - not the little bit of crying Kasumi did. In all cases, no one wanted to call off the wedding; it's just that their nerves got to them. Getting married is a major turning point. If you're not a little nervous about something, you might be doing it wrong. Even the perfect-seeming couples admit to some nerves here and there at some point and time - just usually not in front of witnesses."

"Nerves? Kasumi? Oh come on! She's had to put up with a lot of crap over the years," Nabiki dismissed. "No way even her own wedding would do this to her."

Nodoka looked thoughtfully at Nabiki. Finally, she answered: "It's not the wedding, and it's not getting married, but it is her business. If you want to help, take everything you can off her hands - especially about the wedding. Don't let her see a bill or field a question. Dump the bills to Mother Ono and handle the questions yourself."

"What's going on?" Nabiki pressed.

"Your sister has a showdown with her greatest critic," Nodoka explained. "And she needs time to prepare."

Nabiki looked confused for a moment and then her eyes widened…

* * *

(A/N: This scene occurs before the "The Destruction of Genma Saotome")

Soun staggered away from the zoo's gate. He turned to wave once at the panda watching him, and then stumbled around the corner. Once he was out of sight, he ditched the drunken walk, straightened up, and shook himself - he was not nearly as drunk as he pretended. "That coffee he has is horrible. I need to get something a little better in there before I visit again. Still that was a very profitable trip," he said silently to himself. "Genma confessed that there's no cure at Jusenkyo for him, only death. He also knows that outside of the Nerima Zoo's protection, his panda form will be slaughtered. He's stuck. All I have to do is make him comfortable and he'll decide that the freedom is never worth the risk. I've got him!"

Soun's glee faded though as another thought stuck him: "Damn, even *he* noticed how unfair I was to Kasumi." Soun had falsely acted out to Genma about Kasumi by claiming "His baby was leaving him." To Soun's complete surprise, Genma had scolded Soun sharply about the father's treatment of his eldest daughter over the years. Considering this was Genma preaching about parenthood, it should have been laughable, but, fortunately, Soun was too much in shock to blow the façade.

Still it left an uneasy feeling in Soun's gut. Ever since his "confrontation" with Kasumi and Tofu last spring, Soun was very aware how much he screwed up with his daughters. The problem was, he was still screwing up and he didn't know how to fix it. Often he recognized a mistake in hindsight - usually a couple of weeks later. He also knew that there was an emotional barrier between him and his daughters - something that had shown up in neon lights within the last year. They still loved him, but their trust in him was completely shot, and he wasn't sure why. He actually tried to bribe Nabiki to find out, but she said to him that he was on his own: If she told him, he'd never be able to make amends.

Of course, a key part of the problem was that there were too many possible issues. The best he could do was to confess to all of them and hopefully mention the one (or ones) they were angry about. Of course, that would mean he'd be giving their anger a ton of fuel for things they didn't know about, and he may dig himself a hole he couldn't climb out of. "I'd like to limit the damage," he thought. "Unfortunately, Nodoka backed up Nabiki and the men in my family are playing dumb. The only help I got from them was Ranma's advice: 'If you think there's something that bad, get on your knees and start talking. It took Kasumi and Tofu a month to shove that lesson into my head - don't wait that long.'" Soun sighed. "The problem with that is that Ranma's a braver man than I am," he thought.

He pushed the problem aside and just hoped that his current approach would work. He was moaning over how much he would miss Kasumi and how much she meant to him while doing everything possible to make the wedding a smooth one, reviewing everything. He was trying to pay attention to Nabiki whenever she was home, asking a lot of questions about her classes and social life. He was also reminding Akane that he would be happy to sign any document that would allow her to get married once Ranma proposed. Oddly enough, none of this seemed to be working - annoyed expressions just became more annoyed. "Oh well, I'll just try harder," he said to himself.

He had purposely limited his drinking with Genma this evening (while pretending otherwise) for two reasons: first he wanted to spy on Genma and make sure the panda was not planning to escape; second, he was determined not to get drunk again this side of the wedding. He had screwed up the night of the Bachelor and Bachelorette parties and his daughters had to come and find him amid all the after-party chaos. "Gods," he thought. "With everything going on, I just had to add to it. Akane and Nabiki were *not* happy."

Admittedly, Kasumi's marriage was weighing on him. His eldest was all grown up now - and he missed most of it by being lost in his own world. Nabiki and Akane were also on the verge of getting on with their lives. While they weren't really going far, he would not be the center of their world anymore. He sighed again at that thought. "I'm becoming a supporting character…I need to get a life…" he said aloud as he began the walk home.

* * *

Monday 12/23/02:

Lord Jakaro looked out over Nerima from the roof of the tallest building with his nine tails waving in the wind and breathed a sigh of relief. He was also trying not to collapse. The Solstice had run its course and Nerima barely noticed. The Kitsune Lord had spent the day racing around the city shorting out as many wild Power flows as possible. Solstices and Equinoxes were often trouble in Nerima - much like full moons were rumored to be elsewhere. The Nexus, Nerima's hidden whirlpool of mystic energy, was often at full spin during those days, and this communicated itself to the local citizens who found themselves with a little extra energy (and a little less restraint). Unfortunately, the Summoning last Fall had changed things - now there was even more Power available, and even less restraint. Things were creeping out of the woodwork - and the Spirit traps - and Jakaro was busy stuffing them back in and making sure they couldn't get out again. "The next Equinox will uncover even more issues that I'll have to deal with," he thought. "I definitely don't want them escaping during the coming Storm. As it is, Nerima will be an absolute mad house during the Equinox, but one thing at a time: get my disciple safely married first!"

Ono deserved a reward and Jakaro thought Kasumi Tendo was perfect for his Halfling. He wanted them to have some time together before the Storm. Hopefully, they would have more time after the Storm, but, again, one thing at a time. If Jakaro could have his way, he'd also have Ranma and Akane married immediately, as well as Ryoga and Akari, but the Kitsune elder was wise enough to know some things just couldn't be rushed, even for the mayfly humans. He was troubled that Mousse hadn't found his life mate yet, but both the lad and the girl had much to do first. "I just hope they get the time," he thought.

His contemporaries (the few that existed) teased him about his concern for humans in general – even for having a human disciple. But he knew that his contemporaries were also fascinated by humanity and their infinite ability to change and accomplish great things, for good or for ill. "Hopefully, they will pull off a miracle," he thought. "I've taken steps to protect my Kitsunes in the other Realms, but we are too tied into this Realm to remain unaffected by the Storm. I pray my human children will be able to redirect its energies."

He adjusted his Other vision and studied the city again, looking for anything that could possibly get in the way of the next two weeks. There was a lot of magic in the air. Most of it associated with the seasonal holidays, but that was not an issue. There was an influx of Elemental spirits (mostly from the surrounding areas) that had him concerned too, but that was more of a wait and see - they may be just stopping by to feed on the Nexus. His eyes caught something flowing in from the north though, and he focused on that. "That's Ogre magic," he noted. "What's it doing here? There are no Ogre Magi in Nerima, just the one non-native Earth Giant – he's gone home for a couple of days – and a couple of harmless ogre descendants." He studied the flow a little more and decided: "That needs watching…"

(A/N: The Ogre magic has something to do with "The Other Side of the Looking Glass"…)

* * *

Judge Sanu looked at the remainder of his docket as he sat in the courtroom. "Not too bad," he thought. "I just have one more case and then I'm off until next Monday. The rest of this week is Kato's problem." He and Judge Kato had agreed to split the holidays: Sanu was to have Christmas off and Kato was to have New Years. Sanu and Ryuu were going to spend Christmas Day with Sanu's nephew, who was married to Ryuu's niece. Sanu was not a man who celebrated any religion, but there was something about Christmas he enjoyed, even more than New Years. "Probably because my family only just started celebrating it, so we don't have any annoying traditions yet," he thought.

Besides, he really wanted to be in the office for New Year's Eve - he had a score to settle with Tofu Ono. "You've been busting my chops for a long time, Charlatan. Now you've stuck your neck out too far. I'm going to see you imprisoned in the stocks – and I'm going to be the one who padlocks them shut, demi-mortal," he chuckled evilly. He had already arranged for the surprise. When Tofu and Kasumi presented themselves at the Courthouse, it would spring.

Ryuu noticed the quiet chuckle. "Are you still gloating about New Year's Eve?" the assassin asked his boss from where he stood at the bailiff's position. There was a little exasperation in his voice.

"For over thirty years, he's been pulling the wool over my eyes and plaguing me with his antics," Sanu growled although Ryuu heard the amusement in his voice. "You think I'm going to miss the chance to bust his chops?"

"Yeah? Well, keep in mind your promise to Ranma," Ryuu rumbled a caution to his friend. "And Miss Tendo is a sweet woman. Let's not upset her, shall we?"

Sanu barked out a laugh. "You know me better than that! Besides, the Charlatan saved our lives a few times – I'm not an ingrate. Still, some payback is in order. Don't you agree?"

Ryuu's answering grin was wolfish…

* * *

Ciren watched fondly as her boyfriend tried to extricate himself from his work - an almost impossible task for him. She understood this; while his official title was "Chief Inspector" (even though he insisted on "Inspector"), he was one of the top cops in Nerima and really should have had the title "Superintendent" or "Assistant Commissioner". Other Tokyo Wards used those titles, but Nerima didn't - the Police Commissioner refused to appoint them because of the City Council. The City Council refused to appoint them because of Toshio Kuno, who wanted a free hand without pesky policemen getting in the way. If you didn't have the staffing levels, you didn't need all those nice intermediate titles like "Superintendent". So, Ojima was "Chief Inspector."

Ojima didn't complain about his lack of title for a few reasons. First and foremost, he hated politics and a Superintendent would have to spend a lot of time in meetings with the City Council - he'd rather the Commissioner suffered alone. Second, if he was a Superintendent, he wouldn't be allowed to chase criminals and solve crimes - he'd be a bureaucrat, which would kill him quickly. Third, because he was on the streets a lot, the people of Nerima saw him - and supported him. This included the Martial Artists who often served as unofficial manpower. Fourth, because of Ojima's popularity, and the lack of an interfering bureaucracy, Ojima often had a free hand in dealing with the Ward - including dealing with Toshio Kuno. There was literally no one Kuno could complain to if Ojima annoyed him. The Commissioner couldn't do anything about Ojima because the whole house of cards would collapse if he pulled Ojima off the job. The Commissioner General (the nation's top cop) would immediately begin investigating what the hell was happening in Nerima, and that would start an avalanche of problems, something everyone wanted to avoid. As long as Ojima followed the letter of the Law (and the police officer would never do it any other way - or at least allow himself to be caught anyway), he was untouchable. Kuno couldn't do anything about Ojima himself for the same reasons. In effect, Kuno had created this monster and now had to deal with him. Ciren smirked internally and thought: "Ojima is one of the key people that keeps the Ward running smoothly - something Kuno desperately wants. Besides, I think Kuno has some grudging respect for Ojima."

She waited about thirty minutes more until she decided he needed a hand leaving. "We need to go," she told him bluntly.

He looked up and glanced at the time. "I need to sort out this schedule for New Year's Day. Everyone's request it off. I can't have that," he told her. "With the Wedding happening, I don't think we can afford a shortage."

"It will wait," she replied. "The train will not. It's a long ride to your parents. Let's not disappoint them, shall we?"

"Ha!" he laughed. "Not possible. They're so happy I'm dating now, as long as you're a female human, you can't disappoint them."

"I'm only half-human," she reminded him.

"Close enough," he dismissed somewhat flippantly. "As long as you're not an Oni, it's all good."

She sighed in exasperation, walked over to his desk, and pulled the paper away. "Learn to delegate," she said. "Put Imia in charge and let him pick."

"I suppose," he sighed. "Everyone trusts him. Now I just need to review the logs and…"

She leaned in and kissed him. Then she pulled back and looked at his astonished expression. She loved seeing that. "It will wait," she repeated softly. "Nerima will be standing when we get back." A warning crept into her voice as she added: "But if we don't leave now, I'll have to drive us there."

He rolled his eyes at her as he stood up. "You know, you really shouldn't threaten a police officer," he grumbled at her.

"Whatever works," she smirked. She turned away to let him get out from behind his desk, but he shot his hand and pulled her back to him. He reached up to caress her face and resumed the kiss. After a few minutes, she stopped long enough to whisper to him: "We really should go."

"I don't mind your driving that much…and this more than makes up for it," he whispered back.

* * *

**CRASH**

Yuka looked away from the accounting ledger for Ucchan's that she was using for a homework assignment and glanced up at the restaurant's ceiling. She had a concerned frown on her face.

"He won't hurt them," Sayuri assured her.

"He's a ninja," Yuka stated. "He doesn't need to hurt them. A tap on the shoulder could disable them."

"He won't do it. In many ways, he's just like Ranma," Sayuri replied. Then she threw a sly look at Yuka. "I'll grant you, Hiroshi's bulked up…" she continued, smirking at Yuka's blush. "But, they are not in his league, so he will not use 'extraordinary means.' Besides, when push comes to shove - they're his friends, and he really doesn't want to disappoint Ukyo."

"I guess…" Yuka started, only to be cut off as Ukyo entered the room wearing the dress she had made for Kasumi's wedding.

"What do you think?" the chef asked her friends.

Her two friends exchanged glances for a moment and then nodded at each other. "The neckline is too high," Sayuri stated firmly. "You need to live a little more dangerously."

"Yeah, not so much," Ukyo dismissed. "I'm going for a modest look."

Yuka sighed and answered: "Ukyo, Japan never had an Elizabethan era. Lose the collar."

"It's not that bad," the chef protested.

"Oh, yes it is," Sayuri shot back. "You've done a really nice job on the dress, but that neckline is wrong. You need to fix it." Sayuri reached around the counter and pulled out one of Ukyo's romance novels. She held up the book and proclaimed "You ain't *that* innocent." The woman on the cover was almost falling out of her dress. "And I've seen some of your bathing suits - you know how to show it off when you want to. So, what's up?"

Ukyo winced a little. "I'm making sure I behave," she admitted.

"You still have a thing for Ranma?" Yuka asked.

"No," Ukyo said firmly. "We've settled. I'm good." She paused and added: "I just want to show I'm good."

Sayuri took out a small photo album from her backpack and opened it up to a picture. "There's a big difference between this," she started indicating Ukyo's dress. "And this!" she finished by holding out the photograph.

Ukyo took the album and whistled appreciatively. "Akane looks good! But isn't it breaking the Law? I thought it was written that the Bridesmaids' dresses had to be butt-ugly so not to show-up the Bride?"

"From what I heard, it's not possible to show up Kasumi," Yuka answered. "The wedding gown is in a whole other class. Mrs. Takeda really put in a lot of overtime for that dress."

"So, I think you got plenty of room here," Sayuri said. "You can make nice without selling yourself short. It doesn't hurt to advertise either."

"I'm not really on the hunt," Ukyo stated with only the slightest hesitation.

"No, you're not, but you do want to have a little fun - and there's no harm in it," Sayuri encouraged her. She reached over and tugged at the chef's collar. "Ditch the collar and drop the neckline to here." She traced a modest curve that just touched the upper curve of Ukyo's breasts. "It will look perfect - just the right touch."

Ukyo thought about it for a minute. "All right. I'll make the change," she decided. "I can have a little fun."

Just then, the door from the kitchen opened. Daisuke and Hiroshi entered half-dragging Konatsu into the room. "Man, Toshio Kuno has got some nice suits," Daisuke said. "This was a spare? He must have a tailor on staff."

"He does," Konatsu admitted with embarrassment.

Sayuri whistled appreciatively. "Whoa…you clean up well, 'Waitress Boy'," she teased him. Konatsu blushed a bright red.

Ukyo looked over her employee (and fellow wedding invitee) and nodded with a satisfied expression on her face. "She's right. You look good, Konatsu - very handsome."

Konatsu's blush deepened. "But Mistress, I have a high quality silk kimono, just for special occasions…" His voice trailed off at the disapproval from five sets of eyes. "Oh, all right," he gave in. The watching eyes softened. "I'll wear the suit…"

The kiss on the cheek that Ukyo gave him left him slightly stunned for the rest of the day.

(A/N: To see where Konatsu's suit came from read the last section of "The Date - The Flip Side")

* * *

"So, you made peace with Nodoka on Saturday," Hideo called to his wife as he lay in bed.

"It was never *that* bad," Shizuka told him as she walked into their bedroom wrapped in a robe while drying her hair with a towel.

"Ah-huh," he told her while looking at a book through his reading glasses. He was wearing his warm pajamas.

"You don't believe me?" she quizzed.

"I know you," Hideo told her looking up at her over his glasses. "You've always kept an eye on the Tendo girls and you don't like to share. There's a reason Kasumi asked Nodoka to witness the marriage - she knew you wouldn't let Tofu have her." There was no mistaking the mocking tone in his voice.

Shizuka lifted her nose in the air. "At least *I* got to be Matron-of-Honor," she sniffed at him with false airs. "You get to be my hanger-on."

"Ah, Kasumi asked you out of pity," Hideo dismissed which earned him a laugh and a hit to the head with a bright orange pillow. He smiled at Shizuka as she sat down on the bed to finish drying her hair.

"Did you talk to Ranma yesterday?" Shizuka asked her husband.

"Of course I talked with Ranma," he answered. Shizuka caught the preposition change immediately. "I drilled him in magical defenses yesterday. I had to talk with him," he finished.

She hit him with the cushion again. "Did you talk to him about the Romance Candle?" she pushed.

Hideo looked at her with a hint of exasperation. "I told you: there's nothing to say to him about that."

"So, you're just going to let him seduce Akane with the Candle," she said provokingly.

"Stop that," he replied looking over his glasses at her again. "You know that's not what the Candle does. It's not going to send them to the altar any faster. Besides, Akane hit him with one a couple of weeks ago. As he said, turnabout is fair play."

"They're only eighteen," she insisted.

"Almost nineteen," he corrected. "In many countries, they could marry without parental consent. Besides, if I tried to talk to Ranma about his relationship with Akane, he'd tell me to 'buzz off' - and rightly so."

"I talked to him at the shop," she challenged. "He didn't tell me to go away."

"But you didn't change his mind, did you?" he grinned at her. "Besides, he looks at you very differently. He lumps you into the same category as his mom and Kasumi: older woman/mother-figure."

"Older woman?!" she said indignantly.

"You're older than his mom," Hideo reminded her. That earned him another swipe with the pillow. "Cheer-up, you also got lumped in with Kasumi who's young enough to be your daughter," he added unperturbed.

She was about to smack him again when a thought struck her. "Do you really think he sees me that way?" she asked.

Hideo heard the longing hidden there and gave her a gentle smile. "A little bit. He grew up without a mother and I think there's a part of him that really regrets that. So he has a little more patience with older women who are trying to look out for him - especially if they feed him."

Shizuka gave a small laugh and said: "I should have fed him more if I wanted him to accept the adoption."

Hideo chuckled too and then mused: "I wonder if that's where the Fiancée Brigade screwed up." At Shizuka's questioning glance, he added: "They all fed him to try and curry favor. I think that may have gotten them dumped in the 'older sisters' category as far as Ranma was concerned."

"Akane tried to cook for him," Shizuka pointed out.

"'Tried' is the key word. She failed miserably," Hideo grinned. "She didn't get the designation. Instead, he kept seeing her as she was - an 'age-mate'. By the time she learned to cook, it was too late; she had gone from age-mate to friend to girlfriend to fiancée - for real."

Shizuka laughed and started to dry her hair. Hideo pretended to read his book while waiting patiently for his wife to try again. As soon as she opened her mouth, he said: "No. Ranma and Akane are a rather advanced couple, despite their young age and inexperience. They often sleep in the same bed - with their parents' tacit approval."

Before he could say more, Shizuka cut in: "They've always needed better parents. And Ciren says they are both virgins."

"By the Kami…Ciren needs to keep her mouth shut," he said exasperatedly. "And as for parents, Tofu and Kasumi have been watching over them and Tofu's a doctor. I guarantee our young couple have been drilled on the spiritual, emotional, and physical aspects. I'm sure they could answer any sex ed. question you put to them - but I'd ask the questions sparingly because it wouldn't be long before they tell you to mind your own business. They don't need me - or anyone else - butting in."

"So you wouldn't answer Ranma's questions if he came to you?" she demanded.

"When Ranma comes to me, I'll answer him," Hideo replied. He cursed silently as he realized what he had said - his Second Sight had flared up and tripped up his tongue. Outwardly, he betrayed none of this. Shizuka huffed and went back into the bathroom to hang up her towel and brush out her hair.

Hideo thought he just might have gotten away with it when Shizuka charged back in and launched herself onto the bed next to him. She grabbed his arm and burst out: "You said 'When', not 'if'!"

"A slip of the tongue," he half-lied.

"Bull! You just Saw something!" she insisted.

He sat down his book and noticed that Shizuka's robe was partially open. He also saw what she wasn't wearing underneath. Immediately, his thoughts ran in a very different direction - he found his wife very attractive after all. He gave her a very serious kiss; serious enough that it made her breath catch. He could feel the gears starting to shift in her mind.

But she was who she was. She broke the kiss and asked softly: "You'll answer when he asks?"

"Promise."

"Good enough," she said.

(A/N - The Romance Candle appeared in "Gifts". Ranma did contact Hideo, but I never wrote the conversation in this or any other story - it isn't necessary. We learn the outcome of the conversation in "Gifts" though.)


	4. Kidnapped

A/N: To find out about the Tendo's and Ono's Christmas holiday, read the story "Gifts". To find out about Ryoga's and Akari's holiday, read the story "Baptism".

* * *

Chapter 4: Kidnapped (Thursday: December 26, 2002)

Kasumi finished putting away the last of the party supplies that hadn't been consumed last night. It had gone well, but it was time to pack up and get ready for the next event. Folks were coming into town this weekend and she needed to get the house ready. She had moved on to unloading the dishwasher when Nodoka walked in and asked: "What are you doing?"

"Well, I don't want to wait for Akane to get home, and it's her turn to unload the washer. So I'm doing it now," Kasumi answered.

"You're getting married in six days," Nodoka stated flatly.

"I know," Kasumi fretted. "We managed to get through Christmas, but there's the wedding and New Year's to deal with now."

"I see," Nodoka answered. Then she stalked away.

"Did I say something wrong?" Kasumi wondered.

A little later, Kasumi heard tires screech to a halt outside the house. "Sounds like Ciren," she thought. She wandered to the door to check, but as soon as she opened it, someone shoved her outside.

"Get her out of here!" Nodoka commanded while yanking the apron off of Kasumi. Then she threw a coat at Kasumi.

Kasumi spun to look at Nodoka. "What?"

Someone seized her arm from behind. "Come along quietly," Ciren ordered.

Kasumi tried to dig in, but she suddenly felt light headed. Ciren picked her up using a fireman's carry. "Get her shoes," Ciren ordered. Nodoka nodded and ran back into the house. Ciren dumped Kasumi in the passenger seat, having already anticipated the necessity of needing the car door opened. Nodoka threw the shoes in the passenger side and slammed the door shut.

"What's happening?" Kasumi asked.

"You're being kidnapped," Ciren told her bluntly. "And if you try to escape, I'll drain you again." She put the car in drive and started away. She could see Nodoka waving and blowing kisses in the rearview mirror.

"What?... Why?" Kasumi asked plaintively. "Oh my…I can't leave. I've got too much to do."

"No you don't!" Ciren told her severely. "Nodoka's got the house. She'll take care of everything. You've been driving yourself to distraction, and it's going to stop now!"

"But I'm getting married in six days!"

"Exactly! You should be taking a good look at your life, not burying yourself in minutia. You're only going to get married once, and you're going to remember it."

"But there are things I still have to do for the wedding!"

"The only thing you have to do is pack - you can do that this weekend. The dresses are set, the hall is set, the food is set, the flowers are set, the ceremonies are set, and the cake is set. It's done! Now, the three of us have an appointment at the spa in 40 minutes. Put on your shoes."

"Three of us?" Kasumi asked.

"Your sensei is joining is at the spa," Ciren told her.

"I can't afford a spa treatment!"

"I can for all three of us. Then Shizuka is taking us to lunch," Ciren said sharply.

"But this is silly!" Kasumi protested. "I don't need this!"

"No one needs a spa treatment. They get it to pamper themselves. It's time you had some pampering!" Ciren told her.

"And how often do you get a spa treatment," Kasumi shot back.

"Once a month without exception," Ciren rebuked. "Your turn."

"But…"

"HUSH!" Ciren ordered.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, the Ferrari pulled into a very exclusive garage. Ciren flashed a passkey at the guard and drove in.

"Parking is nearly impossible in this part of town," Kasumi commented. "Where did you get that?"

"I once did a job for a client in this tower. He has a parking space, but doesn't use it. He lends it out to friends, and I managed to call it for today," Ciren replied.

"What did you do?"

"I rescued his son from some thugs. He was very grateful."

"Thugs?"

"Let's just call them that for convenience sake," Ciren said.

"I see…."

"Shoes on! Let's go!" Ciren commanded. Kasumi just sighed.

Three blocks later, they found Shizuka in front of a building with some very trendy looking photographs of models in the windows. "Is this the right place?" Shizuka asked. "I forgot to rob a bank on the way over."

"Already got it covered," Ciren reassured her. "Thanks for meeting us on short notice."

Shizuka shrugged. "The class schedule is light this week due to the holiday. All of my morning students canceled." Then she smirked and added: "Besides, I really didn't feel like disobeying Nodoka's direct order."

"She did sound intimidating, didn't she?" Ciren returned. She was also smirking. "Not bad for a civilian."

"What did she say?" Kasumi asked.

Shizuka laughed. "She said, you lost your mind and wanted us to help you find it," she answered.

"That's nonsense!" Kasumi asserted. "I'm perfectly fine!"

"Admittedly, Tofu thinks you're perfect," Ciren said as she linked her arm with Kasumi.

"He also thinks you're very fine," Shizuka added taking the other side. "But you've been dodging some heavy thinking. You're not taking that weight on your honeymoon. That should be a joyous time, not a time for heavy discussions. Let's go!"

"But…" was as far as Kasumi got before they yanked her into motion and up the steps of the spa.

Ciren led the way to the front desk where she was immediately recognized by the woman there. "Miss Blake! Right on time as usual!" the receptionist called out.

"Thank you for fitting us in, Mana," Ciren told her.

"Oh, the holiday season is usually a little light - it was easy. What are we doing today?" the receptionist asked her.

"Miss Tendo is a bride-to-be who needs to relax. Her wedding is all set, but she can't stop worrying," Ciren said bluntly.

"Got it. Three relaxation sessions coming up," Mana answered.

"But this is silly!" Kasumi protested.

Mana looked at her directly. "You were cleaning the house this morning, weren't you."

"Of course I was, but…" the bride started.

"But there's lots of help, isn't there?" Mana prompted.

"Well, yes…but…"

"You have an elder sister who's quite competent in maintaining a house?" the (possible) receptionist asked.

"She's sort of my aunt, but…" Kasumi tried again.

"And she recently arrived to help out?" Mana prompted again.

"Well, sort of…she has actually been there a while…" Kasumi answered.

Mana cut her off. "Yes, yes, I see," the woman responded. "Typical anxious bride. Definite relaxation therapy needed. Come with me, please." The woman turned and led them through a pass-coded door.

"But…" Kasumi's comments was lost as her captors dragged her after Mana.

"I like this place," Shizuka commented. "Very no-nonsense."

Mana smiled and replied: "We aim to please, ma'am."

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, after a quick shower and wrapping themselves in towels, the two warriors dragged their captive into a room equipped with three masseuse tables, sweet scented air, warm towels, and three very formable looking female masseuses. The women were dressed in outfits resembling nursing scrubs and each had what seemed to be a medical cart holding all the tools of their trade including acupuncture needles.

Kasumi brightened. "Oh my, you do acupuncture too? That's wonderful! What set of meridians do you use?" she asked.

The middle therapist came forward smoothly and said: "We often don't do acupuncture on the first treatment. It depends on the patient." She took Kasumi's arm and had her sit up on the table as they were talking. "Actually, we use all twelve standard meridians, starting with the Taiyin Lung Channel of the Hand which runs from here to here," she continued while tracing the channel on Kasumi. The therapist proceeded to run through the twelve standard meridians and the eight extraordinary meridians. While she was doing this, she was also getting Kasumi to lower her defenses and lie down on the table without the young woman even being aware of what was happening. The masseuse then began working on shiatsu points associated with the meridians she was discussing with her patient.

Meanwhile, Shizuka and Ciren laid down on their own tables and gave themselves over to their therapists. The two women smirked as Kasumi suddenly stopped her stream of questions and sighed: "Oh my…"

"There it is," the first masseuse commented with satisfaction. "Hush now, Ma'am. Let me do my job…" Kasumi was silent for the rest of the session.

* * *

Later on, after showering off the remains of the body wraps, Ciren, Shizuka, and Kasumi were wrapping up their visit with a soak in a private hot tub.

"And?" Ciren prompted as she sat resting her head on the edge of the tub with her eyes closed.

"All right, this feels wonderful," Kasumi admitted. Ciren gave a self-satisfied smile and said nothing else.

The three women soaked for about five minutes when Shizuka spoke up: "So, are you going to talk about it?"

Kasumi opened her eyes and asked: "Talk about what?"

"Nice try," Shizuka answered. "Love, I've known you for half your life now." Kasumi's eyes opened wide in surprise at the term of endearment and looked at Shizuka. The older woman's eyes were very soft. "I've watched over you for a long time. I know you almost as well as Tofu. I know why you broke down at Takeda's."

"Lots of brides get wedding jitters," Kasumi defended herself.

"You've handled way too many crazy situations to let a wedding - even your own - get to you," Shizuka said firmly.

"Your little sister's wedding featured live rounds of explosives," Ciren commented, still keeping her eyes closed.

Shizuka nodded and continued: "You've loved Tofu since you were sixteen. Don't try to deny it; I knew it before you realized it yourself. And it has only gotten stronger, so you're not afraid of getting married. I don't think you're afraid of being a Martial Artist - you've grown up with them. You're definitely not afraid of having a family - you've already got the itch."

Ciren heard the soft longing echoing in Shizuka's words and knew it resonated within Kasumi, so the Siren kept quiet - Shizuka truly did know what was wrong and was better equipped to handle it.

"See? Nothing's wrong," Kasumi said.

"'Wrong' is not the right word," Shizuka said. "Nothing's wrong; everyone goes through this. But you've hit that magic point in life."

"Which is?" Kasumi challenged.

"You've realized you're not a god, and you're going to have to make some hard choices," Shizuka said definitively. Kasumi sighed and laid her head back against the edge like Ciren, who gave a small, sad smile and nodded her head. "Wife, Mother, Homemaker, Martial Artist, Healer, Seer, Medical Doctor," Shizuka listed off. "At least we can write-off Mercenary - you're not cut out for it. But you're not immortal, and your husband isn't either anymore. The list is too long."

Kasumi let herself slip under the warm swirling water for a few moments, broke the surface again, and started to get out. Ciren leaned forward and stopped her. With a shake of her head she said: "No. It's out now. We're not going to force the issue anymore…" Shizuka nodded her head in agreement. "But running back to bury yourself in housework won't help. Sit back and just meditate for five minutes. We'll need to get out then anyway. Let's get your nails done, and then we'll go to lunch."

Shizuka threw another soft (almost pleading) look at Kasumi which nearly broke Kasumi's heart. Kasumi sighed again, and nodded her head. Then she lay back in the water.

* * *

As they were walking to lunch, Kasumi asked: "Shizuka, did you approve of Father? I don't remember you around the house when Mom was alive."

Shizuka gave a sad smile. "At first I didn't," she admitted. "Your Mom was my training partner and she was my best friend. She was leaving me for your Dad. I resented him greatly. But your mom loved him dearly, and eventually I came to terms with that. I was her Maid-of-Honor at the wedding and was civil to Soun at the wedding. He knew I wasn't crazy about him, but he could be charming when he wanted to be - he still can. Since I was civil and he tried hard to be more than polite, we eventually warmed up to each other. It also helped that he adored your mother. I was the third person to hold you when you were born - besides the medical staff that is. I was a frequent visitor to the house until about a year after Akane was born. Then I left the Tokyo area for a bit."

Ciren perked up as Kasumi asked "Why?"

"For a stupid reason," Shizuka said. "I met a man and fell in love - or at least thought I did."

"You've never mentioned this before," Kasumi stated as Shizuka led them into the restaurant.

"No, I haven't," Shizuka said in a teasing voice just before she turned to talk to the hostess, blocking any further conversation. Ciren grinned at the frustrated look that flashed across Kasumi face.

Looking through the menu and ordering lunch prevented Kasumi from following up for a little while. She tried to figure a polite way to bring the conversation back to Shizuka, but the two other women were obviously withholding the treat. After their food came, Kasumi gave in to her uncharacteristic impatience and said: "All right, I want details." The two older women pretended to look puzzled. Kasumi looked directly at Shizuka and added: "Ever since you told me about Mom's high school days, I've wondered why you vanished and then showed up two years after Mom died. I thought maybe there was bad blood between you two over Father, but that's not the case. When you stopped by the house this past October for my birthday, Father was startled to see you, but not unhappy - and you were kind to him."

"Maybe I could be persuaded to tell you something sooo personal…IF," Shizuka smirked.

"If what?" Kasumi challenged.

"You're done with housework until after your honeymoon," Shizuka said firmly.

"And you stop hiding from yourself and decide your priorities," Ciren stated. "This way you can have a productive conversation with your husband before the wedding and not be brooding during your honeymoon. That should be a wonderful time for both of you, not a time to hash out life." Shizuka nodded her head in agreement.

Kasumi sighed: "Fine, I'll do what Nodoka tells me." Then she rallied and demanded: "Who was he?"

* * *

A/N: Kasumi has a suspicion. Let's see who else does - there was a clue in "The Destruction of Ranma Saotome - Ignition".


	5. Shizuka's Stories

Chapter 5: Shizuka's Stories

"Ah, ah, ah. No names," Shizuka scolded. "He wasn't an evil man - at least when I knew him. That's water long under the bridge. All you need to know was that he was my business partner at the time. He and I had been working together for a while. As you know, I was a champion athlete, although it wasn't as much fun once your mom retired. He helped manage the sponsorships and organized events. He also arranged coaching opportunities. He knew I missed your mom and tried to keep me occupied. We spent a lot of time together, and one thing led to another despite the fact he was about ten years older. He was an extremely handsome man, single, and very rich. The business he shared with me wasn't the only one he had and he had the golden touch. Once we crossed the unmarked boundary, we began dating openly. I was twenty-five at the time and fair game - very fair game. He wined and dined me and I enjoyed it immensely for a few years. We traveled frequently."

"What happened then?" Kasumi asked.

Shizuka shrugged her shoulders. "I couldn't deliver the goods."

Ciren looked confused for a moment and then realized what Shizuka meant. "Oh gods…" she moaned and held her forehead.

Kasumi's eyes filled with tears. "I'm sorry, Shizuka. I shouldn't have asked."

"Shush," Shizuka said gently taking Kasumi's hand. "It's not your fault. And it's not his. And it's not mine. My body can't have children - that's the roll of the dice. To be fair, he tried to address it by calling in the best doctors, and he tried to overlook it when nothing could be done, but his family pressured him day and night about an heir. In the end, the pressure grew to be too much and I left. I left everything. I left him, I left my job, and I left the country."

"Where did you go?" Ciren asked.

"I went to China and did what I usually do when things grew too much - I studied Tai Chi," Shizuka answered. "I studied day and night under the masters in China to try and run away from everything. While I was there, the Strength and Stamina awoke, surprising me and my teachers. That made things worse and I felt even more lost. Finally, I was so lost that I started thinking about home again. I remembered people I use to know there and decided to write a letter to Kimiko. She was so happy to hear from me again I could smell the scorched ink on the paper. So I wrote her back and spilled my guts. We kept writing back and forth for about a year before she finally told me about her cancer."

"How long did you yell?" Ciren quizzed.

"For about a day when I finally got to the hospital," Shizuka admitted. "The doctors went into shock from the noise, but Kimiko didn't care - she was use to me and was just happy to see me again. I suppose the fact that I was clinging to her at the time had something to do with it too. Eventually I calmed down and soon it was as if I never left." She sighed and continued: "I was there a month before she passed away. That's when I met Tofu for the first time - he was the second most exhausted man I've ever seen."

"Who was the first?" Kasumi asked.

"Your father," Shizuka answered bluntly. "He didn't even recognize me when I passed him in the hallway. To this day, he thinks I arrived after Kimiko died, and I don't have the heart to tell him otherwise - he doesn't need another reminder of how much pain he was in. He knows that I was in communication with Kimiko; just leave it at that. I wish I could have been of some use to him, but when your mother died, I went to pieces again. I couldn't have made it through the funeral except for the fact that my former boyfriend held me up."

"You're kidding!" Ciren exclaimed.

"I told you he wasn't an evil man," Shizuka said with a shrug. "He knew Kimiko very well too and was at the funeral. I think he was grieving for Kimiko in his own way, but he kept me moving. A little while after the funeral, when everything was said and done, he and I talked and made peace with each other. I apologized for running away and he apologized for the grief he and his family caused me. He knew I couldn't deal with his family - I'm not sure he could either, but he was stuck with them. We agreed that I couldn't live in his world and its expectations, and he couldn't live in mine - he could never sit still long enough. We parted well at least."

Kasumi asked quietly: "Have you seen him since?"

"Occasionally," Shizuka admitted. "We've bumped into each other here and there over the years. Anytime we have, we made time for a cup of coffee. We've also kept track of one another. I've kept an ear open for news of him. I knew when the head of his family died - a miserable old man who hated my guts. It was about six months after your mom died. That was the start of an unusual chain of events in his family. Within two years, there was a rash of suicides, asylum commitments, and sudden retirements there."

"Coincidence?" Ciren ask innocently - and ironically.

"Maybe, maybe not," Shizuka answered. "When it was done, my friend was now the head of his family. If he was responsible for the uproar, I'm not sure where he found the time to engineer it - he was also tearing up the business world and executed some amazing corporate takeovers."

Kasumi's eyes narrowed as if a suspicion was confirmed, but instead of pursuing it, she asked: "And he kept track of you?"

Shizuka nodded with a secretive smile. "When Hideo and I got married at a small private ceremony, he just happened to be in the temple. He made a point of kissing the bride - on the cheek - and warmly shaking the groom's hand. I found out later, Hideo had made his acquaintance six months earlier and they had done business together."

"He was stalking you?" Ciren asked.

Shizuka shook her head. "If he was, it was a strange sort of stalking," she stated. "I think he was just keeping an ear for me the same way I was listening for him. There were a few oddities about my honeymoon with Hideo, but nothing creepy."

"Such as?" Kasumi prompted.

"Our accommodations were upgraded," Shizuka answered. "At the time, we were told we had won a contest, but looking back, it was a little too convenient an answer. I asked him about it once, and he insisted I just had some good luck. He did let me know in so many words that he thought I married well."

"At least he was grown-up about things," Ciren noted. Shizuka nodded her head. Then Ciren surprised her (and Kasumi) by asking: "So, how did you meet the Mage?"

Shizuka raised her eyebrows and challenged: "If I reply, are you willing to answer a similar question?"

"You already know how I met Ojima," Ciren stated matter-of-factly.

"Yes, but I want to know how you met Olaf," Shizuka replied firmly.

Ciren considered that. "All right," she agreed after a few moments. "Fair enough. Merc's Bargain, but you go first."

Shizuka nodded her head and began: "Once I settled with my former boyfriend, I decided that I needed to get a life. For some reason…" She stopped to flex her hands pointedly. "I wanted to stay in Nerima. I had plenty of cash from my past business venture, but I felt I really should have a job and didn't feel like going backwards. After a little soul searching, I decided I would teach Tai Chi here. I wrote to my masters and requested the proper permissions. I had already earned the titles necessary; it was just a matter of getting the paperwork. Since I was going to do it here, they saw no reason not to send me the accreditation certificates. The next step was to find a space to set up a dojo. I looked at several places, but none of them seemed quite right. I wanted to be close to downtown and the train station, and I didn't want to buy a place outright. Unfortunately, finding a suitable space to rent was a challenge. After nearly two months of searching, I checked out an ad for a second floor space that advertised natural wood floors and an open layout. It was right above a florist shop."

"Hideo was a fellow tenant?" Ciren quizzed.

"Hideo was my perspective landlord," Shizuka corrected. Kasumi and Ciren both gave a small laugh. Shizuka smiled and continued: "I walked into the florist shop wearing a business suit expecting yet another uptight man who thought a woman should not own a business. What I got was very different. Immediately, my nose was assaulted with incense and the overwhelming scent of flowers. The place was very bright and there was soft folk music in the air - I couldn't identify from where. Greenery was everywhere of course, but I couldn't see any shelves. Honestly, it looked like someone had taken a fully terraced garden and enclosed it. It was one of the most disconcerting things I ever saw."

"Nothing's changed then," Kasumi noted.

"Oh, something changed all right - I saw to that," Shizuka said smartly. "When the proprietor of the shop came forward - a gentleman about two meters tall - he was not wearing slacks and a proper button-down shirt with an apron like a normal merchant. Instead he was wearing a bright tied-dyed Nehru jacket and cotton pants - also tied-dyed. The very first thing I said to the man I would eventually marry was: 'Good god, man! The sixties were more than two decades ago!'"

The other two women clasped their hands to their faces to hold down their laughter. "And what did the Mage say to that?" Ciren said between gasps.

The grin Shizuka gave lit up the room. "He replied with perfect unruffled aplomb: 'Ah, you must be Miss Fujii. Your reputation precedes you.'" The grin dropped back to a small smile and Shizuka added: "I guess I was a little rough with the real estate agents and other prospective landlords. I already had a very no-nonsense reputation. Hideo introduced himself and then invited me to share some tea with him. His assistant was running errands and he would be back shortly - then he would show me the place. Admittedly, I was a little early, so I accepted. He was easy enough to talk to and the tea was very good. I was bothered at how relaxed he was though - I felt no one should be that content with life. When his clumsy assistant stumbled into the shop with more boxes than a sane person should carry, the young man promptly fell and threw the boxes everywhere. Any normal merchant would have been upset, but Hideo just picked up the flustered boy, gently warned him to be more careful, and helped pick up the boxes. I was amazed that none of the display plants were damaged. Half of them should have been destroyed, but were not - something else that bothered me."

"I thought about leaving, but once Hideo had everything set again, he announced that I should see the second floor. Up we went, and once I saw it, there was no way I was leaving. I never saw such a perfect, well lit room. The floors were old but very smooth and the walls were very clean. There was a huge mirror all along one wall - the place had been a dance studio. The previous tenant had moved to bigger accommodations. There was a changing area with shower stalls and multiple toilets. Even the ceilings were the perfect height - tall enough to accommodate my landlord with ease. The words 'I'll take it!' were out of my mouth before I knew what happened. I was so stunned that I didn't even bargain about the rent. The money wasn't bad - especially for what the place was, but I had been determined to knock a few yen off of it. Never happened though. I signed a two year lease, accepted the keys from my smiling landlord, and then was alone in my new dojo. I hadn't even checked to see if there was any living accommodation with the place."

"After about an hour, that last point hit me, and I took a better look. There was a small studio apartment attached to the dojo. Things looked a little dated, but everything was in good - very good - repair. It even had a small private shower. Honestly, this was the best I'd had seen, and I was a little annoyed."

"Why?" Kasumi asked.

"Part of it was me being contrary," Shizuka admitted with a crooked grin. "I figured looking for a place would keep me occupied for a few more months, but now that plan was wrecked. I also felt like I had been 'handled', although Hideo had done nothing out-of-the-ordinary. Anyway, what was done was done. So I took stock of the place, decided what needed to be updated, and marched back downstairs with my list of demands."

"And people say I'm undiplomatic," Ciren noted.

Shizuka winked at her and continued: "The shop was closed - it was much later than I thought, so I went up to the third floor where my landlord lived. He greeted me, invited me in, and I went into shock again. Oh. My. God. I swear he must have been color-blind! I never saw such a riot of colors!" Her companions were laughing openly at the expression on her face. "'Are you on psychedelic mushrooms?' I asked him because the furniture was straight out of the American 1960's. He replied 'no,' and that it was only shiitake mushrooms frying that I smelled. Then, he invited me in for dinner and I accepted - still stunned. His food was very good. Between that and the furnishings, I stayed in shock. At the end of dinner, he noticed my list and read it. Then he gently explained that the lease I signed was very specific - as long as everything was in good working order, I was solely responsible for any improvements to the dojo. And, when I moved out, everything was to be restored to its original condition unless he signed a waiver. He then went on to say that he would happily accept any fixtures I removed for proper storage at no cost. Again, I just nodded and accepted the terms I had already agreed to. We had a nice conversation, and then I went back downstairs to my new place in a daze."

Kasumi stated: "I'm beginning to think it wasn't just his furnishing that confused you."

"That may be true," Shizuka admitted. "Despite his worn face - he's always looked like he spent too much time in the sun - he was a handsome man, a few years older than I was and he was well built - still is. But after the last few years, romance was the furthest thing from my mind back then."

"Or so you thought, anyway," Ciren smirked.

"Trust me - I definitely wasn't thinking about romance," Shizuka said with another crooked smile. "About an hour after dinner, I snapped out of it. I was sure he had somehow handled me again. This was war!" Her tablemates started laughing again. "For the next month, I was determined to shake that gentle smile off his face. I replaced ever fixture in the dojo and the fridge, so he had to store everything away. I did all the work myself, making a terrible racket. I even ended up breaking a sink that I had to replace - although that was accidental. I insisted that wiring had to be updated and that he was on the hook for that. He successfully argued that only new outlets were needed, but he did take care of it. I rented a machine to strip and redo the floor. He promptly returned the machine behind my back and had a professional handle the job."

"Ye gods, the tenant from hell!" Ciren exclaimed.

"Probably," Shizuka admitted sheepishly. "Through it all, his aplomb never wavered. He fought back in the most insidious ways too. Somehow, my business license was approved - before I even filed it."

"What do you mean 'Before you filed it'?" Kasumi asked in disbelief.

"I mean that I had the paperwork on my desk and ignored it," Shizuka stated. "But somehow, it filed itself. When I went to get a copy, my signature was on it, but I would swear it never signed it - or mailed it in. Somehow, the money left my bank account too." There was more laughter at this. "Then the posters began showing up around town."

"Posters?" Ciren quizzed.

"Yes, the ones advertising for students with my name, number, and qualifications," Shizuka answered. "Within a week of them appearing, I had a full class."

Ciren leaned back in her chair and clapped her hands while laughing. "Definitely fighting back," she said between laughs.

"Oh yes," Shizuka said in low tones. "He was determined to keep me busy and out of trouble. I couldn't prove anything, but I knew he was behind it - somehow. But I wasn't done. I took that lease to a lawyer and had him tear it apart. Based on that, I decided my business needed a sign on the building - and I was entitled to one. The verbiage on the lease wasn't specific enough regarding placement."

"Oh my," Kasumi said as she leaned forward and placed her face in her hands.

Shizuka smirked. "I had a big professional sign made up that screamed 'Tai Chi'. Then I had them place it over the sign for his shop. His sign said 'Hideo's Florist', one word on top of the other. When my sign was in place, the word 'Hideo's' was covered. Once the workmen left, I had him come out and look at it. He stared impassively at the two signs for a few moments, and then the phone rang in his shop. He went back inside and I followed him. He picked up the phone and answered in the straightest tones: 'Hello, Tai Chi Florist. Hideo speaking.'" Kasumi and Ciren lost it and burst out with laughter. So did a few tables around them. Even the busboys were cracking up.

Shizuka waited for them to regain control. Finally, Ciren asked: "So what did you do?"

Shizuka looked at her with disbelief. "Are you kidding?" she asked. "I. Was. On. The. Floor," Shizuka said, emphasizing each word with a finger tap. "His aplomb was too perfect. I could not stop laughing. Hideo finished his call and leaned over the counter to look down at me. He had this knowing smile on his face that caused me to laugh even harder. And the more I laughed, the more he smiled. I hadn't laughed since before I went to China, and I was long overdue. Finally, I got up, went around the counter and gave him a big hug which he returned easily. Then I held out my hand to him and, as he took it, I said: 'Hello, my name is Shizuka Fujii and I am a complete bitch.' He replied: 'That's O.K., most she-wolves are.' That was the start of our friendship."

Kasumi laughed again. "Why didn't you take the sign down?" she asked.

Shizuka shrugged. "He told me not to," she replied. "I had started to call the workmen back and he stopped me. Instead, he insisted that we go out to lunch together. He explained that the 'sign war' would get both businesses talked about. As long as we appeared friendly about it - and I was all for that - it would be good for both businesses. And he was right, so the signs have stayed that way ever since. Officially, the shop's name is 'Hideo's Florist' on all the tax forms, but he's actually got a DBA name of 'Tai Chi Florist' on file with the town. To make it up to him, once we married, I took his name and re-registered the dojo as the Jouda Dojo."

"How did you get rid of his 1960's style?" Kasumi asked.

"By giving in," Shizuka admitted. At the puzzled looks, she explained: "He got to keep the décor in our bedroom and his study. In exchange, I got the main room - you've only seen the main room and the kitchen. I have my own study downstairs in the dojo."

"But he's not wearing a Nehru jacket anymore," Ciren pointed out.

"A wife has multiple opportunities to manipulate her husband," Shizuka laughed. "It just takes patience - something to remember ladies. His work apron is still tie-dyed - a gift from me, but now when he's out and about town, he looks like a proper businessman and not a refugee from the 60's."

"When did you get married?" Kasumi asked.

"About two months before I entered your life again," Shizuka answered. "Tofu and Hideo were already friends when I showed up on the scene - something about working together as Mages. Tofu was the Best Man at our wedding." Then she tapped the table and said to Ciren: "Enough. I told my tale. Your turn - how does someone with a 'Greek' background meet up with someone with a 'Nordic' background?"

"Very good," Ciren said in mock admiration. "Nice and ambiguous." Shizuka winked at her. "Let's settle up first," Ciren suggested. "It's a little personal and I'd rather tell you two in the car. I'll drop you both at home when we are done."

* * *

A/N: I'm afraid Ciren's Tale doesn't really add anything to this story since she wasn't a big influence in Kasumi's life, so I'm going to skip it. I'll just say for now that Olaf found her on the streets of London when she was thirteen and managed to convince the street sparrow to trust him (after a bit of work). When he calls her "Babe", he's making a reference to the child he first found - not the beautiful woman she is now. She has her own reasons for letting him get away with this.


	6. Battles

Chapter: Battles (Thursday: December 26, 2002)

Tofu sat in his office writing up the last patient visit. She was an old woman with joint pain, but fortunately, her pain responded well to more traditional medicine. "Which is good," he thought. "Her body can't handle any steroids right now."

His office manager, Chie, knocked on the door. "Hey doc?" she prompted. "Maomolin is here to see you." Chie believed Maomolin was a mage. Tofu saw no reason to correct this impression.

Tofu looked up in surprise. "Send him in - I have time." This was true enough. His schedule was light for some reason. It might have been the run up to New Year's - people were taking vacation time now to make the most of the holiday, especially those without kids (the schools were open every day this week). Or maybe people just didn't want to spend time in a doctor's office during the New Year's season unless they really had to.

Maomolin walked in the door looking nervous. "Hello, Maomolin. Are you all right?" Tofu asked. "I wasn't expecting you until the weekend. I thought you'd stay with Ryoga and Akari a little longer."

"Hello Tofu," the golden-eyed man answered back without sitting down. "I am staying up above with them, but Lord Jakaro and I had a heart-to-heart talk yesterday at his place. He suggested I really should come clean with you, so I came down here."

A concerned look crossed the doctor's face. "All right," he said slowly. "Close the door and have a seat. I have time."

Maomolin sighed as he closed the door: "Actually, once, you didn't have time - but I did. I had all the time in the World; and I gave you some of it." Tofu looked at Maomolin in confusion. The cat sat down and continued: "Despite the fact that I'm not the bravest fellow, I've been in a lot of battles. You know about the battle I shared with Ryoga and Ranma against the Stone Oni." Tofu nodded his head, so Maomolin went on: "You also know that I fought that at least twice."

"I thought it was exactly twice - you were looped in time for seven years," Tofu pressed.

"That's what I suggested by omission," Maomolin said with a small wince. "The truth of the matter is I used the seven-year loop over and over and over again because I lost the second time…and the third time…and the fourth time. I've fought the Stone Oni many, many times."

Tofu's eyes narrowed. "How many times?" he asked.

"I lost count exactly - somewhere in the three digit range," the Cat admitted.

Tofu face paled as he exclaimed: "You have to be joking!"

"I wish," Maomolin said with another sigh. "During those seven years, about a dozen battles occurred that I participated in - again, over and over for each battle as I used my Time Loop. One of those was about four years ago as you count Time, in the Qinghai province of China. It had to do with a large group of mercenaries hired by The Council. There were two groups of four hundred men each. One departed northwest out of Yushu." Tofu's eyes widened at the name of the Chinese city. "The other - your group - departed southwest out of Haixi." Now Tofu began to shake.

Maomolin continued his story from there. For the next thirty minutes, the Cat described the efforts of the two columns to sneak through the countryside with the goal of meeting on the west side of Nycheizu, and the home of the Amazon Henna. They would never even get close though; the southern column would get distracted by a sham attack on Yushu. Henna's real attack was on the northern column. When she was done, almost every single warrior but Tofu would be dead. In addition, every inhabitant the village Měilì would also be dead - sacrificed to feed Henna's Power. This was despite Maomolin employing every trick and trap possible, exhausting his own Power and being unable to affect the World for six months after.

When Maomolin was finished, Tofu sat silently wrestling with himself. He was angry with Maomolin for never telling him at this. He was angry about the Cat failing to stop the battle. The tale also showed exactly how foolish his commanders had been, and he was furious with them for the loss of life - and for being idiots. Despite an unseen ally on the field, they still lost. Of course, there was a problem with hating them - they were dead now. Actually, they were worse than dead. Only Tofu had survived because Henna could not figure out how to turn his quarter-Kitsune soul into a zombie. Instead she mangled his body in rage and frustration and left him to die, scarring his soul so that it took years to recover.

On the other hand, this version of that lost battle against Henna explained so many things that happened that day - like the double shipment of ammo that miraculously appeared and landslides somehow occurring at the worst possible time for the enemy, burying over a third of Henna's troops. Considering all the things that went right - including the squad from the southern team that had found and rescued Tofu, it was amazing Maomolin that had managed to pull off all he did. At the time, Maomolin was just a ghost. He had been capable of some magic, some suggestion, and limited levitation, but he wasn't like he was now. Then, he was even less than a ghost, which is why the Time Loop was able to work on him without creating paradoxes. At most, back then he was just another person launching an attack on the tide, even with the foreknowledge he had. And when it came right down to it, one of the reasons Tofu was still alive and well was sitting across from him, looking guilty and miserable.

Tofu thought on that for a long time as Maomolin waited. Finally, the doctor sighed and said: "All right. I forgive you for saving my life."

It was obvious Maomolin didn't know what to make of that. "Ummmm…"

"Stop," Tofu told him firmly. "None of it was your fault - just like it wasn't my fault. It took me a long time to learn that. You tried to stop a disaster and couldn't do it." Then he sighed. "It's not your fault stupid people exist in the world."

"I'm really sorry for all the pain you went through. I tried to help," Maomolin said quietly.

"And you did," Tofu told him. "I'm still here, and you weakened Henna's army a lot, saving those two other villages. But I have questions that need answered." At Maomolin's nod, he got up. "But not here. We're going to do this right. Two old fighters should discuss something like this over a couple of beers."

"At 10 in the morning?" Maomolin asked.

"Trust me," Tofu half-smiled. "I know a place that will serve us."

* * *

Four hours later, the two men were walking back to the clinic. The half-buzz that Tofu had an hour ago was almost gone, and he was in a thoughtful mood. Maomolin was quiet, just letting Tofu digest everything, but he was also very relieved that his friend was still his friend, maybe even a little more so now.

"Maomolin lived through that battle again and again," Tofu thought. "Even if he wasn't physically at risk, he had to lose it over and over. I can't imagine how maddening that must have been. Even his attempts to stop it from happening never worked entirely. The few times he managed to do it led to even bigger disasters."

Silently, the doc continued: "People sometimes think of the Animal Lords as gods, but they're not and he wasn't even that. He was just an undead spirit cast from the Circles of the World. He had less power than I did, and yet he kept on trying until he exhausted the possibilities. It takes a big spirit to admit defeat and then go on… and when he admitted defeat, he had to go back one last time and fight it again anyway…"

"Mao? I've got one last question," Tofu asked. At the Cat's nod, Tofu said: "Why me? In this timeline, you and I didn't meet until after the loop was closed. How did you know about me?"

"Promise you won't get mad?" Maomolin asked.

Tofu laughed. "After all this, you have to ask?"

Maomolin snorted. "True enough," he said. "In some of the loops, we did meet earlier, and you had a positive effect on Ranma and Akane; enough to make a critical difference at some of the junctures. Also, because you were important to Kasumi, and Kasumi was extremely important to Akane and Ranma - she still is. And…"

"And?"

"And I had a bit of a crush on Kasumi," Maomolin admitted. "I wanted to see her happy, and you made her happy."

"Are you kidding me?" Tofu half-laughed.

"Hey, sometimes you have to go out on a limb for those you love, and I had all the Time in the world," Maomolin said off-handedly. Then he stopped and put a hand on Tofu's shoulder, making Tofu stop. When Tofu turned to look at him, Maomolin went on: "Doc, she loves you completely. She has ever since she was a little girl. As self-centered as I was, even I could tell. That's something that anyone can appreciate and something that should be protected."

Tofu forbid the blush to start - it would be unseemly for a Kitsune to blush. Instead he nodded, and said "I love her too."

Maomolin took his hand off Tofu's shoulder and they resumed walking toward the clinic. "What are you doing next?" Tofu asked.

"After your wedding, I'm going to Ryugenzawa. I want to get some of the Water of Life for Akari to drink. Maomolin told him. "I'm going to start tilting the odds in Akari's favor."

"Sounds like a plan," Tofu replied grimly. "Well, I can save you the trip. I have a bottle of it I collected when I was at Ryugenzawa. You can get a draught into her immediately." Maomolin nodded and Tofu lapsed into a thoughtful silence as they walked. Finally, the doctor said: "I think we need to call Taro. He's with the Lorekeepers at Jusendo. We need more info, and the Lorekeepers are our best shot."

"Are you going to tell him about Happosai?" Maomolin asked.

"He has a right to know," Tofu said grimly. "Especially after everything he's gone through. Besides, I only keep secrets when necessary - I find people make better decisions when they have all the information."

"This should be interesting," Maomolin murmured.

(A/N: Tofu's conversation with Taro happened in "The Baptism" as well as some decisions relating to Akari and that story. Tofu's battle with Henna's forces was mentioned in "The Destruction of Ranma Saotome - Combustion", Chapter 5. Tofu's long recovery from the battle was mentioned in "Kasumi's Fate", Chapter 4).

* * *

Later that afternoon, just as Tofu walked Maomolin out of the clinic's front door, Tofu looked up at the overcast skies and said with a smile: "Maomolin? Thank you for the wedding gift."

"Huh? But I haven't given it to you yet."

"Yes, you did. After four years, I'm finally free," Tofu answered.

"Oh…You're welcome, but you'll still have to accept the mixing bowl set."

"Deal."

* * *

Ranma ran out of the school yard with a grin on his face. He had planned to see Hideo at the florist shop, but Hideo had called him and begged off until the weekend due to an "unforeseen matter." Since Hideo was a Mage, Ranma didn't push him, but now the young man was unexpectedly free. Since Akane was busy for a couple of hours, Ranma thought he'd go to the place Ciren had rented and work out away from the Nexus. He had a key to the training room in his pocket, but Itabashi was a little bit of a hike. There was also the matter of Cologne's teasing from last night to settle. So Ranma had a plan, and all his cohorts were on board. He ran down the street toward the Cat Café, keeping his ears open. "There!" he thought as he neared a well known alley. "Someone is about." Once upon a time, Ranma would have crossed the street to avoid this particular alley. It opened onto the back of several restaurants. As a result, the local wildlife was always haunting it - rats and mice in particular. And where you find prey, you find predators. The young man stopped at the opening into the alleyway, and saw his target watching a dumpster. Ranma's hands were shaking as he took out the cat treat, but he didn't stop. Instead, he bent down and called to the cat in its own tongue. The cat, a rare female tabby, saw him with the treat and jumped down. "Come her girl," Ranma coaxed, fighting to keep his nerves under control. He was better at this - much better. Accepting the cats inside himself had allowed him to start facing outsider cats, but it still took work.

The cat carefully approached and Ranma felt the Cat Fist start to rise within himself. He didn't fight it, but he didn't force it either. He allowed both the physical cat and the spiritual cats to choose to come. "I can do this," he told himself. "This is a part of me." He fought down the fear - at least the mind-numbing terror no longer happened. He forced himself to kneel down as he offered the treat. The cat hung back a little as he settled, then she proceeded very slowly, watching him carefully. Ranma again called to the cat in her tongue. His hand was shaking slightly, but she drew closer and closer to the offered treat. Finally she stretched cautiously forward and took it from his fingertips. Ranma nearly freaked as he felt her teeth brush his fingers, but he locked down the panic. "She's just another hunter," he told himself. "Just like me." The cat nosed under his hand and he forced himself to gently pet it. Sweat was breaking out on his forehead, but none of that communicated to the cat. The cats inside Ranma's mind were starting to integrate themselves into Ranma's senses. Occasionally, one or two had done this a time before - something he had gotten use to, but never so many at once. He could actually smell them inside. "This is me…this is me…" he repeated silently.

Apparently, the outsider cat could sense the internal cats too. She looked up at Ranma as if trying to understand what was going on. Curiously, she strode forward and placed her paws on his knees ("It's OK…it's OK"). She climbed up on Ranma's legs a little more. Ranma slowly placed his hands on the ground to control the shaking. Then the cat looked Ranma straight in the eye and Ranma looked back. Suddenly, Ranma felt the shift and his senses opened up. He felt the cat spirits inside react with amazement. Outside, the tabby cat recognized that the human was gone, and a Cat Lord was here now. The cat dropped back submissively. Ranma knew he now had cat-eyes, and his aura was that of a cat's, but his mind was working clearly. He spoke gently to the cat, reassuring her that everything was fine while petting her. Then he reached into his pocket and took out three more cat treats. He popped one in his mouth and gave the other two to the cat. He petted her one last time as she accepted the treats and then he stood up. Slowly, Ranma put on a set of sunglasses to protect his sensitive eyes. Then he leapt to the top of the building effortlessly. "I'm coming, old ghoul!" he thought.

* * *

Mousse straightened up. "Oh oh," he said out loud.

"What's wrong, Part Timer?" Cologne asked.

Mousse grinned. "You shouldn't have been teasing Ranma last night that he wasn't allowed near here on 'Buffet Day,'" he told her.

"Ha!" Cologne laughed. "And you shouldn't tattle on your adopted brother! Now I'm ready!"

Suddenly, the door to the restaurant blew open startling the patrons. There was a rushing wind sound and Ranma flew in the door wearing sunglasses - as Mousse had been expecting. Cologne tried to intercept him, but she was several moves behind him - Ranma was moving too fast. The pigtailed man ran down both sides of the buffet. Mousse felt rather than saw the plate that was shoved at him. He grabbed it reflexively. Then the wind was gone and the door slammed shut again.

Mousse looked down at the plate in his hand. It contained exactly one teaspoon of every entrée in the buffet with one notable exception. The buffet setup looked undisturbed as well except for the same exception.

Cologne began to curse as she noticed the one empty pan. "#!% #! REALLY!" she exclaimed.

Mousse turned away so she wouldn't see his smile. He took the plate with him figuring it was time for him to eat something anyway. But first, he needed to get a new pan of broiled fish for the buffet….

* * *

Ranma sat in the training room finishing the fish he stole from Cologne making sure to open his senses as fully as possible to share with his spiritual companions. He had made a careful count of the fish by marking a scrap piece of wood every time he ate a fish - he'd need to reimburse Mousse and Cologne later. Once upon a time, he would have never worried about stealing when he was hungry. These days, he still didn't worry about it - provided he didn't leave someone else hungry or stick them with a bill when he had means to make it up to them (like working it off or out-and-out paying for it). "All right," he admitted to himself. "I've changed. I'm no longer Genma's son."

" _No, you're not - you never were. He was only your sire,"_ Rera told him. _"You and I have the same Father - Wind. Speaking of which, it's time. I'm sitting in a temple full of very happy cats. You have a couple of hours tops, so let's get on with it."_

"Who's coming?" Ranma asked.

 _"Do I look like a god? There are several possibilities. Go. And no cheating!"_ Rera insisted.

Ranma snorted and walked over to the small kitchen alcove. The Cat Fist broke as he poured a glass of cold water on himself/herself. The street clothes vanished and she was now dressed in her blue gi. "O.K. normal power levels back," Ranma said out loud. She concentrated solely on manipulating air currents and using them to move objects. Carefully, she managed to open the swinging windows (having unlocked them previously) and bring in outside air. Feeling the cold air on her face reminded her to turn off the room's heat until she was done. She couldn't manipulate the thermostat with the air currents - not enough surface area on the lever to grapple with. But as she went to use the control with her hand, Rera stopped her. _"No, think through the problem,"_ he scolded. _"Sit!"_

Ranma sat down where she was and experimented with different techniques. Finally, she worked out using two air-filled chi columns, one bracing off the other to shift the level. The mental/spiritual control necessary had sweat pouring off of Ranma's forehead. _"Telekinesis it's not,"_ Ranma thought to Rera. _"It's never going to be faster than walking over there."_

 _"Didn't say it was. But it is taxing you, which is the point. Keep going."_

 _"Got it!"_ Ranma exclaimed as the heat clicked off.

 _"Next…"_

Ranma sighed and forced herself to hyperventilate as she spun the air currents in the room. When she had enough oxygen in her blood, she stood up and dropped the air pressure around her as low as she could, striving for a total vacuum.

 _"Lower!"_ Rera commanded. _"And don't let the room implode - spin the outer winds faster!"_

The strain was enormous on all levels for Ranma. _"This is a favorite attack of Wind Mages. You used it on Genma! You have to be able to take it!"_ Rera urged. _"Keep going!"_ Rera began counting down from twenty. At zero, Ranma let the vacuum collapse with a "BOOM!" that rattled her skull. Absorbing the pain was the easy part. Forcing the air to flow up and around her was much harder, but she actually lifted herself into the air. _"Way to go!"_ Rera shouted. _"That would stop the follow-up attack from slamming you to the ground. Now counter!"_

Ranma let loose a large Nova Burst that shone from her entire frame, lighting up the room. _"O.K., that would be effective under most circumstances…"_ Rera admitted grudgingly. _"Even a blind Mage would have their Other Sight blinded. Break!"_

Ranma let the air currents start to slow down on their own. _"Oh, so close!"_ Rera teased. _"What did you forget?"_

"Crap," Ranma muttered. "I'm losing free power."

 _"Better claim it before your enemy does!"_ Rera laughed. Ranma thrust her Will outwards and drew the Wind into herself. She used what she could to restore her reserves. _"Entropy always wins,_ " Rera reminded. _"But that doesn't mean you have to give it an easy win."_ Ranma sank to the ground and didn't waste any energy on a rebuke. Rera would give her exactly two minutes - no more, no less - and she wasn't going to waste it on the young immortal.

For the next fifty minutes, Rera drilled Ranma on Wind magic and its counters viciously. The red-head felt as if her brain would explode several times, but she refused to cry "Uncle." She had never given in to Genma or Tofu and she would never bow to Rera, no matter how hard he pushed her.

Finally, Rera called _"Cool down!"_

Ranma rev'ed up the winds to spin around the room again, but she maintained normal pressure at the center. She pushed the air much in the manner one pushed a child on a swing, slowly building up momentum. She had a steady circulation going when she felt the disruption - something was trying to break up the flow. Ranma glanced about and saw the issue. With a grin, she tried to accommodate the influx of heat into the currents. The heat source was being capricious, shifting how it heated the air. Ranma felt Rera smirk and retreat. _"Your problem,"_ the Sprite called out as he vanished from Ranma's thoughts. The heat source split, now working on two parts of the room, Ranma split the flow to center on each source, trying to set up two circulations that meshed on the tangent. The heat sources merged together and Ranma smoothly merged the two circulations.

The lights in the room dimmed as Akane Tendo pulled more energy from the electrical system. She had a small smile on her face as the heat source split three ways.

Ranma cursed under her breath as setting up three circulations in the room was impossible. There would be one circulation countering the other two unless Ranma wasted energy on Chi barriers - and energy was in short supply for her. Then, her eyes widened as she saw a third person in the room - Miss Hinako was sitting on the table in the kitchen alcove watching the contest. The teacher was in her adult form. "Great. There's going to be a witness if I lose this," Ranma thought. "My English teacher would have to…" The thought trend spun quickly from 'teacher' to 'school subjects' to 'math' to 'geometry' to '2-D versus 3-D shapes'. "Idiot!" she scolded herself. "You know winds can have different directions at different altitudes." She began to split the circulations vertically at different heights, but it didn't quite work - there was still winds trying to blow across each other. Ranma let the currents clash for a moment until she saw a one roll horizontally - it looked like a tornado lying on its side. "Yes!" she exalted. Soon, she had Akane's heat sources surrounded by a pretzel of wind currents, all drawing energy from the sources.

Akane looked thoughtful for a minute and leaped into the air over one horizontal tornado and ducked under another. When she stood up though, she was not in any stance - at least not in any fighting stance. Instead, she had a sultry air about her and a "come-hither" look on her face. "Oh crap…" was the tiny thought running through Ranma's brain. Akane closed the distance to a suddenly petrified Ranma and gave the red-head a heated kiss.

With a loud clap, Ranma's air columns collapsed and Akane's heat sources became visible in triumph. Ranma was sitting on her rump on the floor. "Anything Goes…" Akane smirked. Miss Hinako was clapping and whistling.

Ranma shook herself. "One of these days, I'll beat that," she said.

"Not if you're lucky," Miss Hinako stated. "You're best hope is to perfect a complement. I recommend more kissing practice," she added smugly. Akane just laughed and Ranma sort of snorted a chuckle. Miss Hinako threw a bag at Akane. "Go change, Akane. You two can spar here, and then we should go join the others." Akane nodded and walked to where the back rooms were.

As Akane left, Ranma pressed: "I think I have a job I'm suppose to go to? I start in about an hour, and it will take a little while to get there. I used the Cat Fist to get here quickly. Unless there's an emergency, it's not likely to come back."

Miss Hinako's face turned serious. "You have the night off. The clinic wasn't busy today and we have a problem. I was asked to bring Akane to you and then bring both of you home. Mousse is bringing dinner back to the house for all of us. The two of you should spar now - you won't get a chance later. I'll drive us all to the house."

Ranma sighed. "What's the problem?" she asked.

Miss Hinako said one word bluntly: "Happosai."


	7. Sacrifices

Chapter 7: Sacrifices (December 26, 2002)

Ranma stayed in female form as she sparred with Akane. In general, Ranma was male in the morning sparring session and female in the evening session so both forms would stay in fighting trim. These days, Akane was a suitable opponent for Ranma. Ranma was pushing Akane harder and harder, and the blue-black haired young woman was responding. Soon, Ranma knew he/she would have to figure out how to administer a Master's test, but not yet. "Soon" was growing closer and closer though.

The two finished a ninety minute workout and then went to get cleaned up. When they got back, Miss Hinako led them outside to her waiting car while carrying her fighting fish. "I didn't know you knew how to drive, Miss Hinako," Ranma (now male) remarked.

"It's after hours, Mr. Ono," Hinako said pointedly. "Just Hinako will do."

"Yeah, but despite everything, I'm still your student for another four months. I'm gonna screw up and forget the title in class," he replied.

She just shrugged. "So, I tap you on the head with a ruler. It's not like it's going to really make an impact."

"Fine, Hinako. I still didn't know you knew how to drive," he tried again.

"I learned over the past few months. A friend taught me, and then I bought a car," she answered.

"Be afraid. Be very afraid," Akane whispered. "Ciren taught her."

Ranma should have paid a little more attention to that…

* * *

At the house, the two teenagers recovered from the ride while Hinako put her fish in Nodoka's room for safe-keeping. Tofu walked in the door as Hinako came back downstairs in her child form. "Any issues?" Tofu asked her as they walked into the room with the others.

"Doc, who's stupid enough to attack the three of us together?" she asked him in return as she went to sit next to Ranma and Akane on the couch.

"These days, you'd never know," he replied grimly. He looked around the room. All the Tendos and the the Onos (including his mother) were here plus Ciren, Shizuka, and Hinako. Olaf was with Maomolin at the Unryu farm where Ryoga and (most importantly) Akari were. Hideo was also on his way to the farm to reinforce Ryoga's wards. "All right, let's start," he said. "Last night, Happosai assaulted Akari while she was at the home of Lord Jakaro."

There were the usual snarls and tight looks at this news, but there was also some confusion. Happosai usually left the quiet ones alone, but it wasn't unknown for him to grab a buttock or cop a feel. For him to do it during a festival wasn't unusual either. Everyone in the room knew they were missing something and prayed the old pervert hadn't crossed some final line.

Tofu added: "I know what you're thinking, but it wasn't the usual and it wasn't sexual." He pointed at Ranma and Akane sitting together. "Last night, Happosai added to your number - he marked another Sacrifice."

Akane sat stunned as her eyes glowed and energy flowed across her brows. Ranma's face twisted as the young man gave into an emotion he rarely let escape - pure unadulterated Rage. He leaped up and a harsh growl came from his throat: "Akane died because of him? I'LL BLOODY KILL HIM!"

"RANMA! STOP!" Tofu commanded.

"No," Akane said as if in a trance. "He doesn't get away this time. He set us up. He set us all up. They almost died. He gave us no freaking warning. If we hadn't seen them, they'd be dead. There would be no recovery - not for them, not for us, not for the World. HE'S %!# ! DEAD!" The last part was delivered as a scream. Akane shot up from the couch and both teenagers tore off for the back door.

"HINAKO!" Tofu shouted.

Hinako shouted "HAPPO FIVE-YEN SATSU!" and immediately there was an explosion that rocketed her off the couch and into the nearest wall. Ranma and Akane dropped and lay on the floor motionless. Everyone else was slightly stunned.

Ciren and Tofu ran over to Hinako who was now in her adult form. She looked dazedly up at them as they bent down to help her up. "Ow…I think they are just a little wound up," she noted understatedly to her helpers. "I don't think I'll be able to change back for the rest of the night without a discharge..."

"Are you all right?" Tofu asked her.

"Pretty much. The inflow absorbed most of the damage," she answered. Ranma and Akane started to try and get up. "You better get over there," she told them as she stood up.

Tofu started to walk over, but Nabiki and Kasumi were already there. "Oh my," Kasumi said as she bent down to look at Ranma and Akane.

"Are you two back in your right minds now?" Nabiki asked sarcastically standing over them.

"He has to pay," Ranma growled.

"That's nice," she replied in the same tone. "And he's where?" Ranma's eyes went flat at that, but Nabiki knew she had gotten his attention.

"This is too much," Akane said sitting up.

"Nabiki's right," Kasumi said as she shifted to a kneeling position. "We don't know where he is. And if you go charging after him, he'll only turn your rage to his advantage. This is Happosai."

"He's no longer welcome though," Soun said. His tone surprised everyone. He looked at Tofu and stated: "This weekend, we get your fellow mages together and we dismantle his room. We can put up with a lot of crap, but once he starts marking innocents for death, it's over."

"He's your Master," Ciren warned.

Soun snorted. "I don't care anymore," he said. Then he sighed and added: "There really does come a point where the dishonor becomes too much. I never thought I would hit it, but I just did. I may scream and run for my life, but he's not coming back into this house with my blessing. We're changing the locks tomorrow. It won't stop him, but it will let him know how we feel. Once he punishes me, he'll move on." He sighed again.

Tofu noted that Soun's daughters didn't really trust that their father would follow through, but it didn't matter. They would and Soun would only just nod his head and not say a word - he had given his permission. Hinako eyes seemed to be sparkling in Soun's direction though. Tofu dismissed that thought and reached down. He caught Akane and Ranma by the upper arms and lifted them back to their feet. "Enough. Sit and eat - please," he ordered. The last word caught their attention and they both relaxed reluctantly.

Once they did as they were told, Tofu urged everyone else to do the same. As they ate, he began: "All right. I had a chat with Maomolin and Lord Jakaro today." He then went on to tell everyone about Happosai's attack on Akari and that the pervert had marked Akari with some type of oil and tried to hit her with some type of Water. He then went on: "Lord Jakaro is not here right now because he's been working on making sure Happosai can't enter the lands of the Kitsunes anymore. Regardless of how the Council feels about appointing a new Envoy, they're keeping their mouths shut. The Kitsune people are too powerful to be dictated to." He took a deep breath and continued: "Jakaro also told me that he knows of six marked/consecrated individuals. He sat on the info because he wasn't sure for a while - it wasn't until Tomo heard the consecration that he was sure."

Mother Ono rolled her eyes and muttered about the inconsistencies of men.

"And they are?..." Ciren asked.

"We knew about Ranma, Akane, and Ryoga," Tofu answered while indicating the couple. "Now Akari has been marked. The fifth individual is Pantyhose Taro."

"But I thought you said the Sacrifice has to be underage; he's older than I am," Nabiki remarked. "He's counted as an adult in any culture."

Tofu nodded. "Taro wasn't always an adult - I think Happosai has been marking children for a while. He's been keeping a selection and working to keep them viable as long as possible."

"That's cold - very cold," Nodoka stated.

"I can't come up with any other answers," Tofu shrugged. "There are only four World Sprites. Three have been banished. One remains. There's no reason to mark six unless you're keeping spares. Besides, it makes sense when you consider the last individual."

"Who is?" Hinako asked.

Tofu took a deep breath and looked directly at her. "You," he stated.

* * *

Nodoka looked at Hinako sleeping in the mother's bed. The fish had been covered to allow the age-shifter to stay in her child form. Hinako's face was still red from crying and screaming. Kasumi, Nodoka, Kin Ono, and Akane had done their best to comfort the woman-child. When Hinako had screamed enough to lose her adult form, she collapsed completely spent. Ranma had carried her upstairs.

Nodoka stepped out and closed the door. Her son was slumped leaning against the opposite wall. He looked over at her and said: "This completely sucks." She just made a sad gesture and nodded.

Ranma banged his head lightly a couple of times against the wall. "She just found out her 'misunderstood irreverent savior who just needed firm correction', saved her so he'd have someone to butcher at the appropriate time," he said despairingly.

"Well, not quite 'butcher'," Nodoka remarked with a sigh. "But it wasn't a kindly thought either."

"I'm going to kill him," Ranma stated flatly.

"Don't," Nodoka said firmly. "The problem with hunting monsters is that you may become one yourself. He'll get his eventually."

"God, I hope so," Ranma said fervently.

Tofu came up the stairs. "How is she?" he asked. "Is she settling at all?"

"You're going to have to Shield her," Ranma replied. "She's twisting and turning. She needs sleep tonight so she can sort this out tomorrow. You're gonna have to block the nightmares."

Tofu looked impressed at the young man's assessment. "You may be able to give Kasumi a run for her money yet," the Doc said.

Ranma smiled wanly. "I've been hanging out with you too much."

"I'll take care of it," Tofu said. "Let's go back downstairs. Everyone's still here. No one wants to leave right now."

The three walked back to a very somber room. Without a word, Akane got up and embraced Ranma. The two stood there while the others seated themselves.

No one said anything until Kin Ono spoke up: "We need to find out about anyone that has had any dealings with that…person. We need to locate any other marked children, whether or not they qualify anymore. I've spoken to Jakaro, and he can check across the city, but as he told me himself, he's not a god. Unless he actually lays eyes on the person he cannot see the Mark on their aura." Ranma and Akane took an easy chair for themselves as she spoke.

Shizuka was sitting on the couch with her head back staring at the ceiling. "Actually, I have a feeling it's not casual acquaintances we have to worry about," she said as she shook her head side to side.

"We're listening," Tofu said.

Shizuka stood up and pointed at Akane now sitting on Ranma's lap in the easy chair. "Daughter of his disciple," she stated. Her finger moved to Ranma. "Son of his disciple," she added. She pointed upstairs. "The young girl he saved from dying," she continued. "And then there's Taro - the child he delivered at birth and was given naming rights over. He has a strong personal connection to four of the six we know about. The only problem is that I don't know how Ryoga and Akari fit into this."

There was a popping sound and Tomo appeared before them. "But I do," the little Kitsune stated. "Maomolin forgot or may have missed it. Happosai called Akari 'betrothed of my disciple's son.'" He looked at Tofu and said: "Ryoga's father is Happosai's disciple too." There was only stunned silence.

Tofu stood up. "I think Maomolin was a little too occupied with having let Happosai live and talking to me. He's at the farm. I'll call now," he said as he pulled out his phone and walked out of the room.

* * *

Later that night, Ranma and Akane sat on the roof watching the stars. "What are you thinking?" Akane asked him.

"Same thing you are," he answered. "There's a seventh child."

Akane nodded. "Akari doesn't make any sense. She's the right sex - the last child has to be female." Then she smirked at her husband-to-be. "Even if you do confuse the count." Ranma tapped her on the head and she went on: "But Akari's tied to the Earth - not to Water. Her spirit is wrong to Bind the last Sprite - even just in death."

"She's a distraction. That asshole is setting her up to protect the last Child until the appointed time," Ranma said.

"Which means?" Akane questioned him.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "You want to be a Master? Then answer the question yourself."

"Which means Henna's coming," Akane replied. "Happosai is trying to force her to come to us."

"Not happening. She's way too smart to risk herself until she has too," Ranma stated firmly. "So what's the second option?"

"Shock troops," she said bluntly.

Ranma nodded with a tight smile. Then he stood and held a hand out to her. "C'mon, we need to talk to Tofu before I head back to the clinic - if he hasn't already figured this out. Then we need to get a good night sleep."

As she stood up, he quickly picked her up. "Ranma!" she protested. "I can jump down you know!"

"I know," he smirked into her tight lipped smile. "I just like doing this…"

* * *

A/N: This chapter is a a little shorter than usual, but the next will be a little longer, so it all balances out. I couldn't figure out how to rebalance things without messing with the flow of the story. Also, just for reference, Happosai's showdown with Katsunishiki (in "Baptism") happens after the end of this chapter and before the beginning of the next.


	8. Teachers

Chapter: Teachers (Friday, December 27, 2002)

Mousse woke up as the alarm clock rang. To his complete shock, Ranma turned it off and leaped to the floor. "What got into you?" the Chinese man asked his brother. "You're up!"

"Hinako," Ranma stated bluntly. "We have school today and I want to be there to keep her moving. I know where all her sore spots are. If she starts to get mopey, I can hit her pride to get her going." Ranma smirked then. "All I have to do is make sure she doesn't drain me." He grabbed his toiletries and opened the room's door. "I'm gonna grab the clinic's shower before the nurses show. The bathroom's yours." With that, Ranma was gone.

Mousse shook his head. "He's worried about her, so he's going to tease her. Only he can be the nicest guy and the biggest jerk in the same instance," he mused. "Still, he's right - all hands on deck." Mousse got up, grabbed his own stuff, and headed to the residence's shower.

A little while later, the two young men entered the Tendo residence and shouted out "We're here!"

Akane leaped down the stairs wearing her flannel pajamas, kissed Ranma, and then ran to the bathroom. "See you in fifteen!" she called back.

"She's running behind," Mousse noted. "That's unusual."

"It's because of me," Hinako said as she stood in the doorway to the kitchen. She was wearing her adult form and wrapped in one of Nodoka's robes. She was also holding a cup of coffee. "I had a bad night and she sat with me for a bit."

Ranma made a sour face and nodded in understanding. "Been there, done that," was all he said.

Mousse rolled his eyes and added: "Bought the T-shirt - still paying for it."

"The good news is I can drive us to school once I get cleaned up," she stated. "Kasumi has some clothes I can borrow."

"Sounds good," Ranma agreed.

"Do you need a lift?" she asked Mousse.

He shook his head. "I'm not on until this afternoon."

* * *

Breakfast was a little subdued. Nabiki was still in bed since her classes wouldn't resume until after the New Year, so a major source of morning banter was missing. The rest of the Tendos, the Onos, Nodoka, and Hinako were still quietly processing yesterday's news. Near the end, when the teenagers had put the hurt on most of the food, Tofu's phone rang. "It's Ciren - I'll be back," he said as he got up. He walked down the hallway toward the bathroom. Suddenly, the heard him scream: "WHAT?! Where is he?!...Call the team! I'll meet you there. We need to grab him before the Council gets wind!... I don't care!...That bastard's been lying to me and I want names! First one there starts the interrogation. DO NOT WAIT! Tofu out!"

Ranma was on his feet when Tofu ran back into the room. "Where is he?" the shape-shifter demanded.

"GO TO SCHOOL!" Tofu ordered.

"BULLSHIT!" Ranma shot back.

Hinako was red in the face as she stood up. "No! He used me! He has to pay!" she yelled.

Akane stood up too. "I'm not letting this one go!" she cried.

"You don't get a choice," Tofu snapped back.

Mousse stood up as well. "We're coming. I can follow you."

Tofu looked at little surprised at Mousse's gesture. His face became stern, but there was a bright glimmer in his eye as he looked at them. "As pleased as I am in seeing you stand together, I don't have time for this. My word goes!" With that, he snapped his fingers and assumed his Spirit Form. Hinako's eyes widened as she looked at the tall and robust half-human, half-fox form with the glowing eyes and the bright aura. Nodoka's face paled, as did Soun's. The teenagers were not impressed though. "Follow this!" Tofu challenged and then vanished.

"CRAP!" Ranma shouted as he ran for the door. Akane and Mousse immediately followed him into the front yard.

"He's Shielding something fierce!" Mousse shouted as he stopped next to Ranma who was looking for any signs of the Kitsune.

"Give me your hand," Akane ordered Mousse. "Ranma!" she called imperiously. Ranma immediately turned and grabbed her hand. "Take his hand," she ordered Ranma. He grabbed Mousse's hand. "We're going to break his Shield. Mousse, your Sight is the focal point - just concentrate on letting the power flow through you and look for him! Ranma! On three! ONE! TWO! THREE!"

Mousse felt he was standing in the center of an explosion. Ranma's and Akane's power expanded in a shockwave out from him and rolled over the neighborhood. His companions dropped to their knees at the expenditure of energy, but they didn't let go of his hands. The shockwave lit up everyone and everything ethereally as it passed over them. Mousse saw many Unseen, including the dearly departed, and a few imps and sprites that he made note to follow up on later. The wave hit the clinic and he saw Tofu's shield Shatter. The doctor-now-turned-mercenary smiled grimly across the distance at him. Then Tofu ran into his room and vanished in an explosion of energy. "Ah, hell!" Mousse burst out. "That's got to be a Gate!"

Still, the shockwave rolled on, losing its intensity as it spread out, but also gaining speed. It could no longer shatter Shields, but, nonetheless, it highlighted everyone to Mousse's Sight. The mundane folks felt a momentary sliver down their spines and brushed it off. Those with the Sight glanced in the direction of the dojo and prayed whatever was going on wouldn't touch them. The occasional mage simply sighed and re-hid the Wards that the shockwave lit up, glad that it hadn't shattered them. Mousse stood frozen as more and more secrets were exposed to the morning light (and quickly covered up again). "Holy shit…" he muttered in awe. The minutes ticked by until the shockwave finally rolled out of his range at the boarders of Nerima, still thinning and accelerating. "No bloody way…" he mumbled.

"Oh my…" Kasumi said behind him. "That was impressive. Pointless, but impressive."

"Yes, it was," Mrs. Kin Ono said as she walked in the front gate. "On the other hand, the three of them just frightened every potential troublemaker across the city into good behavior - at least until after the New Year starts." The old woman walked forward until she reached Ranma. Then she tapped him on the head. "All right, you've thrown your temper tantrum. Get up and wait for your Master to get back."

"Sensei - not Master," Ranma breathed out heavily from where he was kneeling.

"Ditto," Akane whispered sounding just as exhausted.

Mousse pulled the two of them up effortlessly. "He's my brother…" the Chinese man said.

"Anyway you look at it, that at least makes me one of your mother figures," she told them firmly. "Into the house and get some more food before school. He sent me to watch over you and your mortal teacher."

"Where did he go?" Ranma asked as he leaned on Mousse and walked back toward the house. Kin tapped him on the head with her walking stick for the question, but both young men ignored her.

"He triggered a Gate in his room," Mousse answered. "I know it leads to Mausu, but he threw a new Shield over the two of them. I can't find Ciren either, and she's usually a freebie. I think her car can Shield when she wants it to."

"It can," Akane confirmed.

"Enough," Kin said as she bopped all three on the head. She looked over at her daughter-in-law-to-be. "Daughter," she addressed Kasumi. "They're going to need a second breakfast. I'd help, but I need to make sure they don't go running off. They are stubborn." Kasumi bowed to Kin politely and led the way in.

Inside, Hinako was standing up with a concerned look on her face as she watched them come into the main room. "What happened?" she asked as she held her fishbowl tightly. Nodoka was in the kitchen making more tea. Soun was ostensibly reading the paper.

"The kits tried to outwit a 150 year old Kitsune," Kin answered bluntly as she motioned for her charges to sit. "They have even less chance against his mother. That goes for you too, Teacher." She motioned for Hinako to sit too.

Hinako looked annoyed for a moment and then sighed hard. "Yes, ma'am," she replied sitting down. She seemed to rally a little though. "I still have a job to do," she said pointedly

"As soon as I throw some more food into these two," Kin answered while pointing at Ranma and Akane. "You can take them in." Kin took the newspaper from Soun, flipped it right side up, and gave it back to him. Then she tapped him (very lightly) on the head. Soun hunched his shoulders a little, but had a small smile on his face - he and Kin were on fairly good terms as in-laws.

Suddenly, there was a ruckus from the kitchen. "OUT!" Nodoka yelled.

Kasumi tried to answer: "But Mother Ono said…"

"OUT!" Nodoka yelled again. Moments later, Nodoka marched Kasumi back into the main room. "Sorry, Mother," Nodoka said to Kin. "But this miscreant is not allowed in the kitchen or to do housework until after she is married. Actually, she could use a good talking to. Your perspective could be useful. I'll take care of the rest of breakfast."

"But…" Kasumi tried again.

"Sit!" Nodoka ordered. Kasumi's face took on a sheepish expression and she sat down at the table with the others.

Mother Ono was trying not to laugh at Nodoka's righteous indignation or the expression on Kasumi's face. "I see," Kin replied with a twinkle in her eye. "All right, Daughter," she addressed Nodoka. "I'll see to the yearling after breakfast."

* * *

Ranma and Akane were subdued as they walked home. They had re-charged quickly after their display this morning, but were still frustrated at being left behind. Miss Hinako had perked up after an hour of so after arriving at school, losing herself in her work, and they were happy enough about that. However, Mother Ono appeared at lunch to "bring them a treat", obviously checking on them. When they groused about that in the classroom, Hinako just remarked that it was just absolutely horrible that "someone cared enough about them to bring them dessert".

"She could have just spied on us you know," the teacher reminded them.

"I see she brought you brownies as well," Ranma noted with a raised eyebrow. The young man had used a quiet voice so not to be too disrespectful. This was a classroom after all.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," the child teacher said with a smirk as she brushed chocolate off her skirt. Then her face grew serious: "Sometimes, we need to trust our friends though. The doc is not happy with Happosai either. He also has a firm sense of Justice. Let's see what happens before getting too upset."

"If you're going to talk like an adult, you should look like an adult!" Akane snipped back at her as she yanked the cover off her fishbowl. Hinako resumed her adult form chuckling.

It didn't help their mood that various people kept tapping their wrist watches at the couple as they walked home. Those that made the gesture seemed to indicating a time right around 7 or 8AM. The couple blushed as they realized their display probably had disrupted more than just Tofu's Shield. They said an apology to those that gestured at them and promised to "behave". That seemed to satisfy the wrist tappers.

"Well, we're learning who the Mages are," Akane sighed.

"Fair's fair," Ranma said quietly. "They already knew about us before this morning," he pointed out. That actually made Akane laugh a little which made Ranma feel better.

As they walked in the door, Nodoka greeted them. "Come in, I have a snack made for you," she said.

"Have you heard from Tofu?" Ranma asked in a resigned tone.

"No, but there was a disturbance at a hospital to the north this morning," Nodoka reported. "The news stations are blaming electrical issues at local transformers. That sounds like code for magic run-amuck."

"Where was that?" Akane inquired (a little too innocently). Nodoka just pointed at the kitchen with a raised eyebrow. Akane sighed: "Fine." As she walked into the kitchen, she asked: "Where's Kasumi?"

"Lying down," Nodoka answered. "I think she's doing some serious thinking - finally."

"About what?" Akane responded surprised.

Nodoka thought about that for a minute and then responded: "I'm afraid that's really your sister's business. But I will say, not everyone's path in life is clear cut sometimes. It doesn't hurt to reflect on your life, especially at a major junction like a wedding."

"She's not thinking about calling of the wedding, is she?" Ranma asked concerned.

"What?" Nodoka replied confused. Then she seemed to catch on. "No, no. She loves Tofu, that not an issue," she reassured them. The couple gave a relieved sigh. "Leave well enough alone. She's fine - they're fine. All right?" At their nods, she had them sit down.

Later that evening, after Ranma and Akane had sparred, after Ranma went to work and returned, and after Akane had helped Nodoka prepare dinner, the couple was setting the table for dinner when they heard Tofu shout: "We're …" That was as far as he got before he was knocked across the front yard and into the compound's wall. The couple stood on the front stoop as he struck the wall.

"Well, that went as expected," Olaf noted.

"At least you managed to cool down," Ciren observed with slow mock clapping. "I'm not sure I would have."

"I ain't promising anything," Ranma said.

"Me neither," Akane chimed in.

"Forget it," Mausu advised. "You've already forgiven him. Otherwise, you'd be following up on the attack."

Tofu picked himself up. "I'm not sure they need to," he said placing a hand on his back and wincing.

"Enough you two," Kasumi said firmly from behind them.

Tofu held up a hand. "No, leave them be. I'm not sorry I told them to stay behind, but I am sorry that I didn't have time to explain myself. They're not mercs. No one gave them any say in any of this." Now Ranma and Akane stared at their teacher awkwardly - a mixture of anger, resentment, and embarrassment at having Tofu defend them. "Look, will you let me explain before you hit me again," he pleaded.

Ranma made a face and blew out his frustration. "Fine," he gave in.

Akane made the same gesture and added: "This had better be good though…"

* * *

"Mousse is working late tonight, so this is all of us," Nodoka told Tofu.

The doctor looked around the room. Of his mercenary team, only Daran was missing - he was north with Akari and Ryoga. Maomolin was with them at the farm too. Otherwise, all the Onos and Tendos were present including his mom. Hinako was also present since he felt she had a right to know as well. "All right," he started. "First the bad news - Happosai got away." To say the young couple's expressed disappointment at this news was strong would be putting it extremely mildly. Tofu spent a few minutes trying to get the two teenagers to hush. Akane's voice in particular was rather penetrating. Olaf had to finally place a huge hand over each of their mouths. Tofu then added: "But he has been punished; nearly every bone in his body was broken." Tofu held up the set of x-rays. Even to the uninitiated, the damage was obvious.

Akane and Ranma stopped struggling, so Olaf let them go. "Who the hell did that?" Ranma demanded.

Tofu said one word: "Katsunishiki." There was stunned silence at that, so Tofu continued: "We always knew he was protective of Akari, but we never knew to what extent. He's always been a relatively gentle giant." Olaf chuckled at that, but let the phrase go. "As near as we can figure," Tofu went on. "He tried to warn Happosai off and the old man didn't take the hint. Apparently he got the drop on the pervert and drove his point home."

"The Mountain did that?" Nodoka wondered. "How is Happosai alive?"

"I don't know," Tofu admitted. "We know Katsunishiki is intelligent for an animal, but very few humans could break every one of an opponent's ribs and not puncture an organ. Happosai was in a back brace and still could wiggle his toes. He was likely to make a full recovery."

"Was?" Soun asked.

"We don't know where he is now," Tofu stated. "Moving him would have been tricky."

"Did the Council get to him?" Soun asked again.

Tofu took a deep breath and blew it out. "Not as far as we know," he answered. "We beat the Council's team to the hospital and there was a battle on the hospital grounds to keep them away. Ciren and I got to Happosai's room only to find him gone. Apparently, the old man doesn't want us or the Council to get him. According to the nurses, a team of medics claimed him and took him away. He was very happy to see them."

"But aren't you the Council's team?" Nabiki asked waving her hand at the mercenaries assembled.

"No," Mausu answered firmly. "We're his team," he said pointing at Tofu. The rest just nodded.

"I've taken a lot of direction from the Council, but not all of it," Tofu explained. "I'm Lord Jakaro's disciple - he trumps them. I'm also myself, and I have my own loyalties. Anyway, my duties with the Council end with the start of the New Year, and I'm walking away - with Jakaro's blessing, but that's another story." Kasumi looked surprised at that.

"So? Are you going to tell us?" Ranma pushed.

"Tell you what?" Tofu quizzed.

"Why you didn't let us go with you?" Ranma pushed again.

Tofu nodded his head. "I said you deserved answers, so let's start." He took out a thick letter. "One of the nurses gave it to Ciren after we found Happosai's room empty. It's from Happosai." He continued reading despite the surprised exclamations:

 _My Dear Doctor,_

 _The fact you are reading this means that I'm either dead or I had to flee - I'm hoping for the latter. As I once warned to you, it's time for all alliances to dissolve and lines to be re-drawn. The Council will become useless shortly. The Ruling Hex will be pushing for war, but if you and the rest of the mercenaries refuse to accept the job, they won't get it. Don't accept the job: there's only death there. Henna needs war to survive - it only makes her stronger. Without it, she will have to scrounge for Power. Walls, not swords, will kill her. Beijing is already moving to isolate her, you need to do the same. Tell the mercenaries that the walls will make them richer; that will get their attention._

 _Remember what I told you about the Ruling Hex. The other members of the Council already believe it's a fool's errand to attack Henna. They will either defect or drift away. It will be up to Jakaro and the others to gather them. It's time for those of us born here to fight for our world._

 _The task you've taken upon yourself is unchanged. You've done a good job so far: things are moving to plan. No one on the Council seems to suspect, so keep things going._

 _If I'm dead, you will receive another letter in three weeks detailing my task. It will fall to you to complete it as well as your own. Hopefully, that will not be the case - for both our sakes._

 _Until we stand in Nerima again,_

 _Happosai_

"O.K., you want to explain that?" Akane demanded.

Tofu sighed and nodded. "The Council is a set of nineteen…individuals. Outside of the Ruling Hex, four of them are men, two are women, and seven are a mixture of more exotic humanoid species - including a couple of what are commonly known as Elves. There are no Animal Lords, or Elemental creatures. The thirteen are all what you'd call 'long-lived' - such as Happosai."

"And the other six?" Hinako asked.

Tofu shrugged. "I don't know," he admitted. "The Ruling Hex look like tall sturdy human men - clean shaven, bald, solidly built, chiseled faces, and almost identical looking. There are marks on their faces like war paint which is the only way to tell them apart. The leader is called Altrus - he's the one who does most of the talking. They are the core of the Council and it's said that they founded it nearly five hundred years ago. They're the ones who invite others to join. They try and keep the total count at nineteen members for some reason."

"Why do they exist?" Kasumi asked.

"Why do any of us exist?" Tofu shot back with a shrug.

"Stop that. Why did the Ruling Hex create the Council?" she tried again.

"I'm not sure," he told her. "I do know that they have been waging a quiet war against Henna for as long as the Council has existed. Her destruction seems to be one of their goals. They also seem to be concerned about Order, but I'm not sure why."

"And you don't know their species or race?" Nabiki quizzed.

"No, I don't," Tofu responded. "Happosai once hinted that he found out by accident. He said I'd be happier not knowing. But he did warn me that they were not born of this world, and it didn't mean all that much to them. He said their priorities were very different from mine. That's what he meant by the line ' _It's time for those of us born here to fight for our world.'_ He'd said that a time would come when I'd have to distance myself from them. I'd know when because they would start to plan on attacking Henna out right."

"And from what Banner told us this afternoon when he called," Ciren chimed in. "It's happened. The Council is advertising for fighters to attack Henna under their banner. They want to launch an attack before the first day of Spring."

"So you resigned this afternoon?" Kin asked her son.

"Pretty much," Tofu admitted with a shrug. "My team is on leave until after the wedding anyway. Lord Jakaro is informing the Council that he will not allow me to renew the contract - he has other work for me. He's also talked to Othan and convinced Othan and his team to sign with the Kitsunes. Pretty much, Jakaro is working to rob the Council of manpower. It will only work temporarily, but it will stall them until the end of January at the very least."

"So Jakaro believes Happosai?" Nabiki asked in disbelief. "I have a tough time believing a Nine-Tailed would follow the old man at his word."

Tofu gave a short laugh. "Not even close. Jakaro's following his own wisdom. He said he was going to pull me and my team by Spring before the Council started making war noises. I hadn't mentioned Happosai yet when he told me I was done."

"All right, you quit working for the Council. What does this have to do with why we couldn't chase Happosai with you?" Ranma demanded.

Tofu looked at his adopted brother directly. His eyes were softly glowing as he said: "It has to do with ' _the task you've taken upon yourself_ ' as Happosai put it. The Council knows you were used to kill the Wind King. What they don't know is that you also saved his life. Like Henna, they don't know the Wind King has been re-born. Same goes for the Fire King - now Fire Queen, and the Earth Queen - now the Earth King. You, Akane, and Ryoga protect them - and I protect you, like it or not. The Council and Henna think the planet is much weaker than it really is. They and Henna don't realize that the Elemental forces are re-organizing - and the longer we keep them from finding out, the stronger our Ace-in-the-Hole. Somehow Happosai knew the Elemental royalty was returning. If any of the Council members even saw you, they might know too. We need that Ace. I knew the Council would try and get to Happosai before us - I couldn't take a risk that any of the other nineteen would be there and see what you hide. Hopefully, the Council will be neutered like Happosai said. If not, I want them to underestimate us if we have to work around them. Surely you can understand that."

Ranma seemed to struggle with that. So did Akane. Finally, Ranma said: "Still not happy. You can't sideline me and expect me to just take it. This is my fight too." Akane nodded her head in agreement.

"There's a lot of truth to that, but just stay in Nerima until the start of spring," Tofu half-pleaded. "By then the Ruling Hex will be embroiled with Henna and we can move more freely outside Tokyo." His lips curled up in to small smile. "Besides, if they think we are weak, our enemies will come to us to attack and end up having to deal on our terms. I *know* you understand that. That's too big an advantage to just toss aside."

Ranma dropped his head a little and took a deep breath as the tactician inside himself had to agree. Akane wrinkled her nose and made a face. Then both of them looked Tofu straight in the eye. "O.K., I'll have to give you that..." Ranma grumbled reluctantly. Then he sighed. "Fine, I won't cross you, but you have to keep me in the loop if you want me to obey."

Akane sighed as well and then said: "Me too - on both counts,"

"Done and thank you," the doctor said with a relieved expression. "Once I'm back from the honeymoon and your exams are done, we'll sit down and go over all the small details. We'll also 'up' the training - there will be more magic and mayhem - I promise."

"We're holding you to that," Akane stated. Ranma just snorted a little. There was chuckling around the room.

"Now that that's settled, it's time for dinner," Nodoka chimed in.

* * *

Earlier that morning…

Lord Jakaro looked at the expanding bubble of force explode from the Tendo complex. "Oh hell," he thought. "That's not good at all." He watched as the wall of magic approached him and engulfed him. He felt the tremendous anger and determination from the three minds and something else - the subtle power of two World Spirits adding further purpose to the spell from the three teenagers. Then the wall flowed away from him and passed on. The Kitsune sighed as he watched the bubble expand toward the horizon. "It's not the Summoning, but that's still going to really leave a mark…"

* * *

A/N: Next up - We jump forward a few days. There will be a new story "Elemental" to covering the missing weekend, but it doesn't really fit in with this story. So, we will pick up here with the chapter "Decisions" where we find out what's been bothering Kasumi and how she resolves it. Then will end this story with the first wedding. The second wedding is a whole other matter...


	9. Breathing

Chapter 9: Breathing (Monday, December 30, 2002)

Kasumi sat cross-legged in the family room on the couch, ostensibly looking at the newspaper. Nodoka was in the kitchen happily working on food for the dinner occurring in a few hours. There were a lot of people expected to eat with the family including the Unryu farmhouse crowd (Chiyoko was with them now), Cologne, the Joudas, Ukyo, Konatsu, Sasuke, several folks from the clinic, and Tofu's mercenary team. This was basically a chance for everyone to celebrate the New Year a little early since the wedding was going to run over it.

"At least I don't feel like it's going to run over me anymore," Kasumi thought. She sighed a little at that. While she definitely felt out-of-place with Nodoka handling everything, Kasumi had to admit that Nodoka, Shizuka, and Ciren were right: she needed to take a break and sort herself out. "Problem is, I still haven't sorted out what I really want to do. I don't want to put this off either - I can't jerk Tofu around."

That thought made her smile. She knew that much - she wanted to get married and she wanted to marry Tofu. Tomorrow would do just fine for a wedding, but today would have been acceptable as well. "Maybe there is such a thing as Fate - some things are just meant to be," she mused. Her husband would support her in whatever she chose; she knew that. But she knew he had a lot on his plate and she wanted his efforts to count - including the efforts he made to help her.

Nodoka came out of the kitchen with two cups of tea. With a quick word of greeting and a smile, she handed a cup to Kasumi and went over to the patio door with her own cup. Then she stood silently staring out the glass door. Kasumi watched her for a few minutes and then asked: "What are you looking at, Auntie?"

"Your sister," Nodoka answered softly. "She's running through katas by herself in the backyard right now."

Kasumi got up and walked to stand by Nodoka, taking her tea with her. As Nodoka had stated, Akane was by herself in the backyard. "Where's Ranma?" Kasumi asked quietly.

"He's in the dojo working with Ryoga. I think Ryoga is getting slightly envious of his bride's forms, so he's asked Ranma to help him tighten up his own. That's one of the problems with being mostly self-taught. Chiyoko and Akari are downtown. I'm not sure where Maomolin is - it's hard to bell a Cat sometimes," Nodoka replied with a small smile, again in a soft voice.

Kasumi looked out the door with Nodoka as her little sister flowed smoothly through kata after kata. The young woman stood out vibrantly against the crisp winter day. Her face was flushed with concentration and her body perfectly balanced. Akane was almost as tall as Kasumi now, but she had adjusted well to her new height. Despite standing barefoot on the cold ground, she looked like Grace personified. "Oh my…" escaped from Kasumi's lips as Akane finished one particularly difficult set.

"She is amazing," Nodoka agreed. "I know my son sometimes teases her about being clumsy, but I have to wonder about his standard for comparison."

"I think teasing is all it is these days," Kasumi answered. "I know he takes her seriously when they spar now; if he makes a mistake, she'll take advantage of it immediately. He's polite about it to her, but he beats himself up for an hour if she throws him."

"He still needs to learn to lose gracefully," Nodoka agreed with a small laugh. "But he is better."

They continued to watch. Kasumi was struck again and again by her sister's poise. "Absolutely beautiful," Kasumi murmured.

"Yes, she is," Nodoka responded, reading more into Kasumi's statement than Kasumi meant. "She is stunning - just like her sisters," the elder woman added warmly. Kasumi was caught off-guard by the compliment and just blushed. Nodoka smiled at her momentarily and then turned to watch Akane again.

Outside, Akane had finished her katas and walked further away from the house. She placed herself in the center of the backyard and began to step through a series of straight forward moves. "What's she doing?" Nodoka asked.

"It looks like the Hiryu Shorten Ha," Kasumi stated. "But that needs an attacker."

"What?" Nodoka asked confused.

"It's a Martial Arts moved designed to use an opponent's anger against them. But it really needs an energy source," Kasumi explained.

Akane completed the last steps of the attack and thrust her hand into the center of an imaginary circle she had been stepping around. Instantly a mini-tornado erupted in front of her. "Would a heat source do?" Nodoka asked in awe. Kasumi could only nod her head.

Behind her, she heard two sets of feet running toward her and the door. "HA!" Ranma exclaimed as he stopped along side of the two women. "I knew she was trying to do that! And she can't surprise me with it now!"

"Crap," Ryoga muttered. "Easy for you to say; you've got a counter for it. I'm still trying to come up with one."

As the four watched, the small tornado intensified. Then Akane stepped back from it, assumed a ready stance, and walked forward into the whirlwind with concentration etched on her face. The wind whipped around her as she increased her heat source at the core. Akane once again assumed a ready stance, and the windstorm slowly lifted her off of the ground. "Way to go," Ranma said enunciating each word in a low and proud voice.

Akane's tornado held her steadily two meters off the ground. "Whoa," Ryoga muttered again, but there was a smile stealing across his lips. "Now, that's control. You are so screwed, Red-head."

"No comment," Ranma said with a smirk. His mother heard the comment in his "No comment" and dope-slapped him. The smirk never left his face.

Akane now lifted her arms and spread them wide. As she did, the tornado lowered her to the ground and began to thin. Akane closed her eyes and seemed to absorb the energy back into herself. "Perfect," Ranma stated.

"Tell her that," Nodoka told him.

"Hmmm…maybe tomorrow. Bye!" Ranma replied with a twinkle in his eye before disappearing - literally. Ryoga also vanished.

"Honestly…" Nodoka sighed exasperatedly.

"He'll tell her," Kasumi said confidently. "He's taken Tofu's lessons about proper praise to heart. But he'll wait until she's least expecting it. She never knows whether to feel pleased or annoyed when he drops it on her out-of-the-blue."

"Oh she knows all right," Nodoka said with a roll of her eyes. "She'll act annoyed until she catches him. Then she'll smack and kiss him at the same time." Nodoka laughed and added: "Still, it's a good thing she knows who she is and can stand on her own two feet - she would die if she needed Ranma's 'timely' praise to survive." With that Nodoka walked back to the kitchen. Kasumi stayed and watched silently as Akane began to run through a cool-down routine.

* * *

Kasumi knocked on the door of her youngest sister's room. "Akane? Can I talk to you?" Kasumi said through the door.

"Sure! Come in!" Akane called back. "What's up?" she said as Kasumi opened the door and came in. Akane was sitting on her bed brushing out her hair after having cleaned up. There was a radio playing Western Pop on Akane's dresser. The young woman looked very bright-eyed as she watched her older sister. She scooted back on the bed to give Kasumi a place to sit.

Kasumi came and turned the radio up a little. Then she pointed it at the door - and Nabiki's wall. Concern flashed in Akane's eyes as she asked: "Am I in trouble?"

"Of course not," Kasumi answered. "But I have a little problem and I wanted to talk to you about it in private. Nabiki's out right now - or so I think. But she'll be back soon. Is there anyone hiding about?"

The worry stayed in Akane's eyes, but she said: "I can find out - turn around." Kasumi did that and the room flashed as Akane generated a small Nova Burst. "No one's about," Akane said as she patted the bed. "Ranma and Ryoga took off for the video arcade for an hour or so." She shrugged her shoulders and added: "They invited me along, but I wanted to get cleaned up. What's up?"

"Akane? What's the most important thing for you? What's the one thing that you couldn't do without and still be you?" Kasumi asked.

Akane looked puzzled at her big sister. "Give me a sec…" she said as she laid her head back against the wall. She looked thoughtful for a few minutes and then sat up. Her eyes cleared and she said firmly: "Breathing."

Kasumi gave an exasperated sigh and looked at Akane with raised eyebrows. "Not helping."

Akane gave a little chuckle and said: "I know it sounds like one of Tofu's answers, but I'm not busting your chops - well mostly anyway." She turned serious and added: "You're trying to sort out priorities, aren't you? That's why you've been out-of-sorts lately."

"Did Nodoka tell you that?" Kasumi asked. Despite the wording of the question, there was only curiosity in Kasumi's tone.

Akane shook her head: "Not really. She just said you had some thinking to do and to stay out of your way. But I'm not clueless - Don't forget I'm the one at school everyone brings their problems to. I'm pretty good at reading people." Then she laughed and said: "I can even figure Ranma out - most of the time."

Kasumi gave one of her patented small smiles. "All right, that is a good trick. So… explain your answer," she said.

Akane gestured at her bookcase and started: "I've read a lot of stories about people trying to find themselves. One thing I've noticed is that the thing they are searching for is always inside them. They either miss the clues, or their environment doesn't give them the opportunity to express it. More often than not, it's usually the former than the latter, but not always. We live in Nerima though - everything that can happen here, does happen here. So the clues have probably happened."

"And what were your clues?" Kasumi challenged.

"Excelling in sports, wanting to take care of people, defeating the Loser Patrol, being one of the 'centers' of my school - not just my class, and dealing with my dummy of a fiancé," Akane rattled off without pause. At Kasumi's mildly surprised expression, Akane shrugged and added: "I did a lot of thinking last spring about who I was and what I really wanted. It was the start of my Senior year and I had a ready-made fiancé hanging around. I didn't want to jerk him around. Fortunately, Ranma was thinking about what he wanted and didn't want to jerk me around either. We had a lot of very frank talks, starting with our first date."

"And now you're getting formally engaged," Kasumi concluded.

Akane nodded. "Sometime before summer," she agreed. "When Ranma's ready to surprise me. We agreed on an upper bound which is good enough for right now."

"So what did you decide from your clues?" Kasumi asked curiously.

Akane picked up a hardcover book and balanced it upright on two fingers by a corner as she replied: "I want to be a Martial Artist." She then balanced another book corner-to-corner on the first and stated: "I want to be a Wife." She added at third book and said: "I want to be a Mother." As she placed a fourth book on the balanced structure she said: "I want to be a Teacher." She balanced the four books corner-to-corner on her fingers for a few moments and then her hand made a short, quick motion. The top book hopped off the stack and into her other hand. As she placed the book on her desk she continued: "I am an Instructor." Another quick gesture removed the next book and she said: "I am the Guardian of a Child." She made the second-to-last book jump into her hand. "I am in Love with a man who wants to marry me and I want to marry him." The last book joined the other three on her desk. "I am a Martial Artist - that's enough to Balance for one lifetime."

Again Akane looked seriously at her sister and continued: "The clues flowed from me as easy as my breath. My actions showed who I was with every little motion. Unfortunately, we often don't pay attention to our breathing." She shrugged again. "The trick is to stop and do it every now and then." After a suitable pause, Akane said: "So, when do you breathe deeply?"

Kasumi pushed herself up on the bed until her back was against the wall. She closed her eyes and thought. Akane sat quietly and waited. "When I'm with Tofu," Kasumi started. After a pause she said: "When I hold one of my sisters." There was a longer pause. "When I serve food to my family," she added.

When there was no follow-on, Akane thought that it was safe enough to ask: "You like housework?"

"Not really, but I don't mind cooking," Kasumi replied. "I love seeing my family happy. That happens when I feed them."

Akane chuckled at that. "O.K., I understand that one. That also explains why every meal is a banquet," she said. Kasumi turned her head to smile at Akane and then turned back and closed her eyes again. After several minutes, Akane asked: "Is that everything?"

Kasumi shook her head. "No, this is where things get confusing."

Akane shrugged her shoulders. "So, just talk - let it out," she told her sister.

Kasumi released the flow: "I love holding a child. I love hearing laughter. I love destroying pain. I love learning - I love reading, but I don't love studying. I love helping people - I love seeing the relief on their faces." Akane nodded. "I'm a fighter, but I don't enjoy it," Kasumi continued. "I'm a fighter because this world needs fighters. I enjoy helping other fighters return to the battle. I hate waste - if I have an ability, I want to use it."

"Stop," Akane said firmly. "I'm hearing the words 'don't' and 'hate'. You're not breathing then. If you can't use the word 'Love', you're not breathing. Don't even say 'like'. 'Love' or nothing."

"But there are things we have to do, Akane," Kasumi protested.

"Yes, the housekeeping has to be done, and I like being competent when I do it," Akane answered. "But that's not when I breathe. If I never had to do any housekeeping, my life would still be complete. Concentrate on breathing."

"But there's so much that needs fixing!" Kasumi said with some distress.

"Not your problem," Akane stated. "Let someone who enjoys fixing it, fix it."

"The world doesn't work that way, Akane!" Kasumi protested again. "We can't waste talent!"

"Just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should - sometimes I butted in where I shouldn't have," Akane responded.

"But Tofu says I have the ability, so I should be a doctor!" Kasumi almost shouted.

"STOP!" Akane commanded. "There is no 'should' in this discussion. Would you Love being a doctor?" she asked forcefully.

"But, I want people…"

"Would you LOVE being a doctor?" Akane demanded. Kasumi hesitated, so Akane leaned forward and said gently this time: "Would you Love being a doctor?"

Kasumi's face took on a distressed look, and then she burst into tears. Akane scooted forward and gathered her sister into her embrace.

* * *

Kasumi stepped out into the backyard as soon as the guests left and the rest began cleaning up. As she knew he would, Tofu followed her out after a few minutes. She stood staring up at the sky as he came up besides her. "Are you all right, Love?" he asked gently.

Kasumi dropped her head and said quietly: "I don't want to be a doctor."

There were a few moments of silence before he slowly reached for her and pulled her into a hug. "My immediate response is to say 'So don't be a doctor', but I think I screwed up somewhere, so give me a minute," he told her.

"But you said I should be a doctor. You've been telling me that since I was fifteen, and we need good doctors," she said with confusion.

"And there it is," he sighed. "Love, I only encouraged you because you had an interest in anatomy; and because I wanted you to dream, not be trapped by your circumstances. You were fighting to free yourself and I wanted you to see that you could. And then you showed an interest in medicines, and then I could feel the Healer in you awaken. It seemed like you wanted to go down that path. I wasn't trying to force you - I just wanted to help. If you had an interest in building things, I would have steered you to Engineering."

"But I do like - love - helping people," Kasumi said. "I just want to be a wife and mother more. I don't want to put off having kids for a decade to get a doctorate. I don't want to spend twelve to sixteen hours a day away from you."

"I hope you weren't expecting me to encourage you otherwise," he replied with a small laugh. Then he said in a soothing voice: "Love, we only get one shot at life. You should do what makes you happy. I guarantee that if you're happy, I'll be happy."

"But I'm a Healer - that's a rare gift. I shouldn't waste it," she said as tears started to form in her eyes.

He continued in a gentle tone: "Honey, when we are born, we are blank slates. It's up to us to write what we want. You can also sing very well, but you don't seem worried about not becoming a professional on the stage."

"Plenty of people can sing," she replied.

"Yeah, maybe a tenth of a percent are better than you. Sorry, you can *really* sing," he stated.

"Great, one more thing to worry about wasting," she sniffed as she tucked her head under his chin.

He laughed a little at that and tightened his embrace. "It's O.K., honey. You should do what you want to do. You don't have to live to anyone else's expectation - especially mine. I love you as you are, not because of who I think you might be. That's one advantage of being part-Kitsune…" She looked up at him as he finished: "We're very good at telling illusion from fact - I can see the real you, and I love you."

"I love you too," she said quietly as she tucked her head again.

"Is that what was worrying you?" he asked. "Not wanting to be a doctor?"

Kasumi sighed. "Not quite, it's only part of the problem."

He shrugged his shoulders. "O.K., is it anything you want to talk about now? I've got time…" She nodded her head, so they broke their embrace and he led her to sit on the porch. "I'm listening…" he prompted taking her hand once they were settled.

"The problem is: I *like* being a Healer. I think I could love it, it just hasn't been awake long enough for me to learn. I don't know how to learn more," she told him.

Tofu rubbed the back of his head. "Well," he began. "There's actually a lot of ways. Instead of spending ten years becoming a doctor, you could spend three years becoming a nurse instead or two years for an assistant nurse, but an assistant nurse has to be assigned to a doctor or a full nurse. A lot of Healers become midwives, which is four years - three to become a nurse and another to become a midwife. A powerful Healer-Midwife can do a lot of good - the unborn are very receptive to 'corrective magic'. It's possible to short out certain spinal problems and other things that would otherwise become birth defects."

Kasumi brightened considerably at that. "That really sounds interesting," she said.

"Most nursing schools will allow you to go part-time, which would leave time to explore traditional medicine - and anything else you want to do. I could help you with the traditional medicines and Healing part-time. As long as you're in school, we can have you help with patients."

He paused and added: "If you only want to practice traditional medicine, we need to find someone who can take you as an apprentice full-time. Since I have to keep one foot in both Worlds, I can only help you part-time with traditional medicine, but I do know several practitioners."

Kasumi thought about that for a few minutes and then shook her head. "I want to walk both worlds too. I need to go to a modern school. I really like the midwife idea too."

"Nothing is set in stone, Love," he told her. "You can start out on a path and adjust it later."

She sat there lost in thought for a while, so Tofu just kept quiet. He could literally see the idea take hold though - her soul brightened as she thought more and more about it. "Much better," he thought. Finally he asked: "Is there anything else bothering you?"

Kasumi reflected for a few moments before she admitted: "That was the big one. I'm use to being a Martial Artist and I love Tai Chi as my escape. I'm also happy to own part of the dojo."

"Because it allows you to keep tabs on Akane and Ranma," he added shrewdly.

"Maybe," she replied serenely.

"What about being a Seer?" he asked.

"That I could do without," she sighed. "Having the Sight is one thing, but I don't like being waken up in the middle of the night only to be handled riddles. I'm not cut out for this. I'm hoping it will fade after the Storm."

"It might," he said with a shrug of the shoulders. "It might not. Either way, you don't have to carry the burden alone.

She leaned into her fiancé and felt an envelope of warmth surround her. "I know, and I'm grateful. By the way, Ranma's Companion wants to have a chat with both of us after the honeymoon. He said things will wait until after then."

"Huh? How do you know that?" he asked surprised.

"He's been reaching out to me in my dreams," she responded.

"He's come to you? That's shouldn't be possible," Tofu said somewhat alarmed. "I know he managed to reach into Ukyo's, Kodachi's, and Shampoo's dreams, but they weren't Warded. You are. No one should be able to grab you like Henna did."

"He's a lot like Ranma - he's very sneaky sometimes," she answered. "He didn't come to me or drag me to him. He's been sending me messages through the winds and breezes in my dreams. It's a very limited way to converse, but he gets his point across and can hear a simple reply. I think he's pulling it off because I'm Akane's sister and he can move through Akane's Spirit World because she's so tied into Ranma. He's definitely bending rules, but not breaking them. He's very clever."

Tofu pulled Kasumi closer to him and reflected on that. After a minute or so, he said: "I need to chat with Shiran. I think I have a clue how Ranma's friend pulled it off, but Shiran has studied Elementals more than I have; he'd know if it could be done."

"I don't think we really have to worry," Kasumi told him. "Any glimpse I caught of him through Ranma says he's firmly in the Ally camp - if not the Friend camp. He seems really devoted to Ranma."

Tofu half-shrugged. "It's said Elementals are notoriously fickle, but the same thing is said about Kitsunes and what you just said is probably true-enough. Considering how everyone tries to enslave Elementals and get in their way, it's no wonder they'll bite the hand holding the leash if given a chance. One thing they do remember is out-and-out kindness, especially with no strings attached. I'm sure he has his obligations, but he's likely to go to the wall for Ranma…"

* * *

A/N: Next: The First Wedding. Judge Sanu springs his trap to get even with the Charlatan as the judge officiates at the first wedding. See you then for the conclusion of this story!


	10. The First Wedding

Chapter 10: The First Wedding (Tuesday, December 31, 2002)

The alarm clock rang at 7:30AM - a more reasonable time than normal. Ranma shut it off and stared at the ceiling for a few minutes. Mousse called up: "You know Akane's Shielding."

"Yep," Ranma answered.

"And your waiting for the attack," Mousse added.

"Yep," Ranma repeated. After a pause, he added: "By the way, I want to ask you later how Amazon warriors are promoted. I need to come up with some sort of formal testing for Anything Goes."

"O.K."

"When did she start the Shield?" Ranma asked. He knew Mousse woke up when anyone in the Family invoked a Shield at night.

"About fifteen minutes ago."

"She's in the clinic then."

"Probably," Mousse agreed. "You think she's gonna try for a two-fer?" he asked.

"Yep," Akane answered as she stood by their bunk beds with the slats that held up Ranma's mattress in her hands. Ranma's mattress was already falling on top of Mousse's mattress as she said it. Of course, neither young man was on their respective mattresses - they were gone as soon as the mattress started to succumb to gravity. She immediately dodged a chain that Mousse threw at her and used the slats to block Ranma's attack. "Oh come on!" she exclaimed at the Chinese man. "You sleep with five meters of chain in your pajamas?!"

"Ten," Mousse corrected as another chain shot out of the other sleeve. Akane leaped up out of the way and attacked Ranma with the boards from his bed. Her fiancé had to pull his punches so as not to break his bed and Akane was not about to give up any advantage - especially since it was two-on-one. Mousse tried to snare her leg with a chain and she had to yank the leg out of the way. Ranma got a clean opening at her face and she was force to roll with the punch. Then she had to twist out of the way as Mousse threw a very solid punch at her stomach. Her hand shot out to grab the chain about Duck Boy's wrist and flip the chain to try and snare their legs. This didn't work, but the gesture and her smaller size allowed her to escape from the corner they tried to trap her in. She leapt up and pushed off the wall. They were moving to track her when she set off a Nova Burst - while not looking at them.

"Holy crap!" Ranma shouted. He fired off his own in the hopes of catching Akane (knowing Mousse was already caught as well), but she was still facing away from him. Both men switched into blind-fighting mode with Mousse taking the lead as he produced a bo staff. He pressed Akane hard as she defended herself with two short clubs. As they tried to trap her in another corner, she ducked under one of Ranma's punches and squirmed sideways to roll toward the door. When she stood up, she set off a small Thunder Blast charge between her hands. The charge caused both young men to hesitate as it confused their remaining senses for a brief moment. That was enough for Akane to gain the door and open it.

"Point!" she cried as she crossed the threshold.

"No point!" Ranma countered firmly. "Your initial attack didn't catch us! But you didn't lose points either - you got to the door." Akane grumbled disappointedly, but accepted the ruling.

Ranma straightened up and looked at her (his sight had returned partially). "We got time?" he asked her. She nodded so he looked at Mousse. The Chinese man nodded as well. "All right. Backyard. Two-on-one drills. Mousse, change and meet us there. Akane, grab a timer and I'll grab some water - I want to switch it up this morning. Go!"

* * *

About forty minutes later, Akane, Mousse, and Ranma (in her female form) walked in the door of the Tendo house discussing the sparring. They seemed to be reviewing who gave what bruise and trying to tally points, even as they sat down for breakfast with the usual nods at everyone. Tofu looked over at them and asked seriously: "You three were sparring?" All three nodded absently, still lost in conversation.

*SMACK* *SMACK* *SMACK*

All three teenagers held their heads from the strong dope slaps. "I'm getting married today," he told them exasperatedly. "And you three are suppose to be there and intact, not nursing broken bones."

"We're getting married today," Kasumi corrected firmly. "Otherwise, he's right and there's a lot to do today. You don't have time to be injured."

"We're fine," Akane defended.

"Akane, you have a black eye," Nabiki pointed out.

"She'll heal it after we finish," Ranma stated.

"Son, your jaw is swollen," Nodoka noted casually as she walked into the room with more food. "Fix it. You can't go to the courthouse looking like that. And if you're staying in that form, you need to put on a proper dress. Akane probably has one we can use; you're about the same height - you grew a little over the past few months."

"I'm planning on going as male to the courthouse, but I may do that just in case," Ranma told her mom.

"You look rather intact," Nabiki observed to Mousse.

"I stopped spitting blood," he commented. "And my voice returned to normal about five minutes ago - our sister plays dirty."

Akane raised an eyebrow. "There is no 'dirty' in our School," she reminded him. "I thought you knew that. Block better next time." Mousse chuckled at that while Nabiki smirked.

Tofu was sighing though. "Look, no fighting until after the wedding - both weddings," he said firmly.

"THIS IS NERIMA," everyone (including Kasumi) said to him.

He sighed again. "Fine. No unnecessary fighting. All right? If you can talk your way out of it or postpone it - do it!" The three teenagers nodded absently in agreement and then went back to their discussion.

Soun looked at them and went to get a yellow note pad. "You need to be a little quicker about this," he said when he got back. "Tell me your injuries and who did them, then start healing them as we go."

Nodoka listened as the teenagers rattled off the gruesome details. "Ah yes, another lovely morning with my family," she noted sardonically. She looked over at Nabiki who was helping herself to more coffee. "How are you able to take this so lightly?" Nodoka asked.

"There's a med student who eats dinner with me at school," Nabiki replied smoothly. "She can get a little technical with the details about the latest dissection, so I've learned to ignore them. Besides, don't forget I've known Akane all her life. She's always been a bit rough-and-tumbled." Nodoka gave a mock sigh at Nabiki's comment, but Akane's eyes sparkled at Nodoka's gesture - she and her mother-in-law-to-be had no delusions about each other at this stage of the game.

Once all the damage was detailed, Soun attributed points to everything. There was a bit of bickering over relative values, but not too much. Finally he asked: "Any other special considerations?"

All three looked thoughtful, but it was Mousse who first spoke: "Akane, when you snuck into the room this morning, was Ranma awake?" She nodded her head, so he continued: "Unless she's learned to teleport, she managed to Shield the fact that she opened the door from both of us - and we were watching for her. That's a good trick."

Tofu cut in: "Actually, that *is* a good trick."

Ranma closed her eyes for a minute in thought. When she opened them, she said: "O.K., we give that two points - but it includes pulling the bed slats which is a 'one-off' attack that we didn't notice until the bed began falling." Tofu looked impressed at that. Kasumi gave a small smile at watching her fiancé get pulled into the discussion despite himself.

Akane looked pleased at the assessment. "What about the behind-the-back Nova Burst?" she pressed. Again, Tofu looked impressed.

"You get a point for that, but only for the element of surprise," Ranma stated. "You won't get that again - that point's gone now."

"Any others?" Soun asked. The three shook their heads. Soun added up the points and said: "Akane edged each of you out score-wise."

Mousse gave a (slightly) mocking little clap while Ranma just gestured dismissively and said: "Feh, tomorrow's a new game." She received a light punch (considering the giver and receiver) to the shoulder for that, but Akane didn't look unhappy.

"No, it's not," Tofu said firmly. "From now until the 2nd, you belong to Kasumi and me." There was light chuckling around the room at that comment. "So, get cleaned up. We need to be at the Courthouse at 1PM and there's a bunch of errands to run first - like picking up the tuxedos. Go!"

* * *

Tofu walked in the door of the courthouse with the rest of the Onos (including his mom and Nodoka - who was an Ono on the family roles) and the Tendos. The plan was for Kasumi and Tofu to sign the marriage license in Judge Sanu's office with Nodoka and Nabiki as witnesses, have Sanu do a quick exchange of vows and then grab a late lunch. The Courthouse was closing at 3PM due to the holiday, so Tofu didn't think there would be much of a holdup. He was a little surprised when he walked in the courthouse lobby and saw a security guard begin frantically waving to him. "Is there a problem?" Tofu asked the man.

"Yes, sir," the guard told him. "Judge Sanu has been detained in Courtroom 101. There was a run of trouble and he's trying to sort it out. He said he'd still like to help you, but you might have to wait an extra 30 minutes." The guard smiled and added: "Actually, the phrases he used were a little stronger than that - something about telling 'the miserable cur to high-tail it to the courtroom and wait his turn', but I got the impression that he was hoping you could wait. He did give me the paperwork in case you couldn't - another judge could probably squeeze in a quick signing."

Now Tofu was concerned. He liked the irascible judge and, as much as he wanted to get the ceremony done quickly, he wanted to make sure his ally was all right. Kasumi broke into his thoughts: "Oh my, we have all day. We can wait a bit."

"Are you sure, Love?" he pressed.

"Of course I am," she answered. "This was one of the reasons you wanted two ceremonies - in case something happened. Well, it did, and it's not that big a deal. We should check on him anyway."

Tofu looked at the others who only nodded in agreement. "All right, we wait." The guard nodded and handed the doctor the folder. A quick check showed that Ryuu had filled out the paperwork precisely - just like everything the assassin did. The guard then directed the families to Courtroom 101.

Along the way, they saw Toshio Kuno standing with a small crowd of people - all who reeked of legal bearing. The billionaire glanced at the two families and gave an exasperated sigh. "How the hell are you lot involved in this?" He looked straight at Kasumi and Tofu. "Shouldn't you be getting married or something?" he pressed.

"That's why we're here," Kasumi answered before Tofu could. "We need the paperwork."

"Oh, thank god!" Kuno burst out. Then he seemed to remember himself, laughed a little ruefully, and bowed a quick greeting to all of them. They responded in kind. As he straightened up, Kuno said: "I have Tatewaki. We should be able to get things done tomorrow on-time." (1)

Tofu nodded his head. He saw Akane and Ranma exchange knowing glances; the doctor had started to uphold his end of the deal with the young couple and told them what had to happen tomorrow. "We'll be waiting," Tofu told Kuno.

"Thank you," Kuno responded. "I won't hold you up today. I know you have much to do." The dismissal was polite and proper, so no one took offense. Besides, it was obvious Kuno had some sort of issue on his hands.

Tofu noted the looks Nodoka and Kuno exchanged. "Ah hell," the Kitsune thought silently. "Yet another complication. I didn't see this one coming. Still, it explains a lot and moves Kuno into the 'ally' category a bit more firmly. I'll worry about it when I get back from my honeymoon. Ranma looks blissfully unaware at least."

As they continued walking toward Courtroom 101, Tofu began to get a little uneasy. "What did happen?" he wondered. There were a lot of folks in the hallway. He recognized a number of them, but hoped the reverse wasn't true. Not all of them were fans of some of his 'previous' lives. Still there was nothing hostile from any of them. He cast a quick glance at the fighters in his group. None of them seemed alarmed, so their own 'danger detectors' weren't firing either. The doors to the courtroom were wide open as the group passed through. The courtroom was actually more like an auditorium. It was the same one Ranma's adoption had been held in. "Well, at least there is good juju here," Tofu thought.

They walked down the stairs and found a section close to the floor in the audience seats. Judge Sanu nodded to them as they sat down and he held up five fingers. Tofu acknowledge the gesture and settled in for the promised five-minute wait. Suddenly, Tofu felt a familiar presence behind him. "About time you got here," Ciren told him.

Tofu turned with a raised eyebrow and responded: "What? The formal ceremony wasn't good enough for you. You had to come for the paperwork?" The rest of his party acknowledged the lounge singer with welcoming hand waves.

"No, Ojima brought me," Ciren replied.

"O.K., he's your date for tomorrow. He didn't have to be here either," Tofu stated.

"He disagrees with you. He also thought you should have a bit more support," she said. "Actually, he thought you should have a lot more support." As she said that, Olaf and the Dojo Destroyer walked in a side door. Ojima, Mausu, and Daran walked in an opposite door.

Tofu looked annoyed now. "Does he honestly think I'm going to run from the altar?" he challenged. Policemen now appeared at all the doors.

"Nope," she told him flippantly. "He wants to make sure he can get you and your bride out of here if he even *thinks* this is starting to go south." Tofu's eyes narrowed as she said this.

In the center of the courtroom stage, Ryuu leaped up on the Judge's bench. The judge's henchman put a foxhunting horn to his lips and blew a call that sent a shiver down Tofu's spine. "That's the 'Going Away' call," Tofu burst out.

"Yep," Ciren acknowledged. "The chase is on to corner the Fox - and here you are."

Behind her, men and women were rushing in to fill the courtroom. The rest of Tofu's party (with the exception of Kasumi) looked on in amusement as seats were filled as orderly as possible. Tofu quickly found himself surrounded by his team, a number of Martial Artists, and a smattering of mages - all sitting around him and his family. "Hope we are not too late," Ryoga blurted out as he, Akari, Maomolin, and Chiyoko hurried to sit down behind Tofu, right next to Ciren.

"Nope, you're right on time," Ranma called back to Ryoga.

However, it was the rest of the audience that surprised Tofu. "Oh crap," he moaned. Ciren's smile became vicious as he looked at the crowd. The head of Nerima Hospital was a couple of rows over. He had other doctors with him. Ryuu's Oyabun (A/N: Japanese version of a Mafia Godfather) was in a nearby section, and he wasn't the only Yakuza member in the crowd. Toshio Kuno had commandeered a section close to the bench and it was stuffed with business CEO types. There were Senseis from local dojos in another section. Among the police officers were detectives and high ranking officers from other Tokyo Wards. However, utmost in Tofu's mind was one fact: Except for his obvious Honor Guard and the local police force, all of these men and women had been tricked, confused, humiliated, or otherwise outdone by the Charlatan; a.k.a. Tofu Ono.

"We are not getting out of here alive," Tofu mumbled.

Ranma was sitting in the row in front of Tofu. He leaned his head back to look at the doctor. "Oh yes we are," the shape-shifter sing-songed at him. "But not yet."

"Oh my," Nabiki said as she threw Tofu a grin that belonged on a shark . "Seems like the great Tofu Ono still needs to learn a little faith."

Ryuu helped Sanu stand up on the bench and then guarded his friend. "Friends, countrymen, beloved allies, and dear enemies!" Sanu shouted out. The audience began cheering at that. "Throughout my life, I have been riddled and tricked by a shadowy figure known as 'the Charlatan'." The audience began hissing and boo'ing at the title. "This…entity…would show up out-of-the-blue, turn my world upside-down, and then vanish again like mist." More hissing and boo'ing came from the audience. "The only thing I ever managed to find out was a government ID number - and a name: Tofu Ono." The audience began to blow raspberries now. "Yes, yes," Sanu agreed smiling. "I too long for a re-match." Then the judge's voice turned somber. "However, my Opponent was much older than I was, and, as all of you have learned, he has since retired to his reward."

At this, the audience suddenly became quiet. Many of them (on both sides of the Law) rose with heads bowed, paying respect to their departed adversary. Sanu's voice boomed out: "Let it be known that he was one who believed in giving second chances, that Mercy should rule Justice, and Want should be met with Charity." The audience began clapping at this. To say that Tofu was stunned would be an understatement. The clapping went on for a full two minutes before Judge Sanu raised his arms again.

When the clapping stopped, the judge hopped off the bench and walked down and around to the floor of the courtroom. He then began walking towards Tofu, holding the doctor's eye. "Oh, oh," Tofu thought. "He's put together all of the clues. This could get interesting…Let's see what he does."

"Turns out," Sanu started again. "That the title of 'Charlatan' is just that - a title that is passed down within his family. And while the Charlatan had no children, he did have an heir and a namesake. Since moving to Nerima, I learned that this heir is actively upholding the family tradition, enough so that just like his uncle, he's managed to tick a number of people off." Toshio Kuno began throwing balled up paper napkins at Tofu, one after the other, slowly arching through the air - much to Nodoka's and Nabiki's amusement. Like usual, Kasumi kept a serene smile on her face, even when some of the paper balls bounced her way. Ranma and Akane were batting the paper balls back and forth between themselves.

"This nephew even managed to annoy me with his bizarre bedside manner - going as far as calling me old and washed out," Sanu added.

"Hold on now…" Tofu tried to cut in. He was blocked by light boo'ing.

The judge continued: "I believe his exact words were: _'You're too old to learn something new. Too old to take on a new challenge. Go find yourself a nice retirement home and wait for death. It won't take long!'_ " (2)

Now the audience broke out in catcalls and cheering.

"Oh my god, Ono!" Kuno cried out. "Why the hell didn't you tape that! I would have financed a new wing on the hospital for a copy!"

"Yet another chance for fundraising he let slide!" Nerima Hospital's Chief Administrator called out. There was more laughter at that.

"Since I've been here, I've seen explosions, people vanishing, mysterious lights…" Sanu continued.

"Definitely sounds like a night at the hospital anytime he fills in for a shift!" the hospital's Medical Chief shouted.

Another doctor groaned with a shudder: "Gods, remember the stairway full of green slime? I've had to take elevators ever since then!" There was more laughter and Sanu held up his hands for silence.

"As I was saying," the judge stated once order was restored. "I've been caught in a number of weird circumstances, and Doctor Ono - the new Charlatan - has been in the middle of all of it!"

He glared at Tofu who had adopted an innocent expression. Having decided that this was more like a "roast" than anything else, the doctor defended: "I can hardly be blamed for things that have no explanation."

The audience began coughing the word 'Bullshit' into their hands at this.

The judge held up his hands again and everyone quieted down again. "So now I find out that the Charlatan has fallen in love - or so he says - and is going to get married," Sanu re-started. "Knowing his history, naturally I felt sorry for the poor young woman who actually believes this trickster."

Calls of "Shame!", "Poor girl!" and "How could he be so heartless?" rang out from the audience. Several of Tofu's team patted Kasumi on the back and mocked-weeped for her. Akane and Nabiki embraced and pretended to cry for their lost sister. Nodoka and Ciren held their faces in fake horror. Soun pretended to be drinking heavily. Ranma and Ryoga offered to help her go into hiding.

"This innocent victim of the Charlatan's schemes, one Miss Kasumi Tendo," Sanu went on while Kasumi blushed deep red at all the commotion. "Cannot be shaken of the mad belief that this… creature… actually loves her and she is determined to go through with the wedding." The courtroom continued to weep for Kasumi. "As news of this travesty spread, it reached the ears of all those the Charlatan - and his Uncle - have tricked." At this, the Courtroom audience gave a large war cry. "So, we - the Tricked - all put our heads together and came up with a plan to salvage this poor girl's future - we would make the Charlatan's lies true! We would serve witness to the marriage ceremony and make sure there was no way that the Charlatan could ever denied that it happened." Now the audience cheered and Kasumi clasped her hands to her face to hide her laughter. "This poor girl would get her husband, and the Charlatan would be bound to a woman who would kill him with kindness and keep him out of our hair!" The cheering became deafening. "Bring the condemned forward!" Sanu commanded.

Ranma, Ryoga, and Mousse stood up and then looked in confusion at the couple. "Which one is the condemned?" Ranma called back to the judge. This began an immediate discussion across the courtroom about who was really getting punished here. Tofu held his head in his hand and Kasumi kept her hands pressed to her cheeks trying to hold back the blushing. The three brothers silently studied her face for a moment. Ranma bent down and asked: "Are you all right? One word and we can stop it, but no one really means anything here." Kasumi choked back laughter and signaled for them to keep going. Ranma discretely nodded to Sanu that everything was fine and the judge nodded back.

"Don't I get a say?" Tofu asked.

"NO!" all three young men chimed at once. Kasumi's laughter briefly escaped as she clapped her hands together once.

"Never mind!" Judge Sanu shouted. "Escort the poor woman forward." Ranma and Mousse took Kasumi's hands and guided her as Ryoga came forward and lifted her by the waist so she cleared the front half-wall separating the audience from the courtroom floor. All three then hopped the half-wall and escorted her to stand by the judge. "Bring forth the Charlatan!" Sanu cried. Olaf and the Dojo Destroyer strode forward.

"I can walk!" Tofu protested as the two big men reached into the second row and each grabbed him by a shoulder. Effortlessly, they lifted him out of the audience and carried him forward. The audience roared with approval. Nodoka and Nabiki left their seats and moved to join the judge while the noise continued.

As Tofu was set before Sanu, Ryuu moved before the couple holding the Book - the semi-official record of all misdeeds every Nerima Martial Artists had ever committed. He had opened the large ledger so it displayed the back of Kasumi's page and the front of Tofu's. Ryuu flipped Kasumi's page to show that it was blank except for her name, address, and a new married name at the top: "Kasumi Ono". Then the assassin flipped back to Tofu's page, which only had one incident on it. On his page was added: "Wife - Kasumi Ono." Ryuu placed the marriage documentation to be signed on the Book, using the open Book as a writing surface. The audience was chanting: "Marry them! Marry them! Marry them!"

Sanu said quietly to the couple under the cover of the chanting: "Fun's fun, but this is the real documentation - Ryuu got it from the folder. You sign it, you're married, vows or no vows. If you want to have a more private signing later, I fully understand and we will take care of it after the celebration; just fake a signature on the blank paper under the documents right now. If you do decide to sign the marriage license now, I promise I will use proper vows." His eyes sparkled as he added: "If you don't sign, I get to make up the vows though - your call."

Kasumi laughed at that and Tofu raised an eyebrow, but he was suppressing a grin too. The doctor looked at his bride. "I'm fine with this. I really am - I think this is wonderful," she answered the look.

Tofu looked at the judge. "I will get even," the doctor remarked.

"Oh please," Sanu snorted. "This doesn't *begin* to even the score between us, Trickster."

"Perhaps," Tofu admitted. He took a pen from Ryuu as Nodoka and Nabiki looked on. Tofu glanced at his bride as the pen touched the marriage certificate and she nodded, so he signed the groom's line and handed the pen to Kasumi. She signed the bride's line and handed the pen to Nodoka who signed one witness line. Nabiki signed the other and then Sanu accepted the pen.

The judge signed the document and motioned for his assistant to seal it. Then he looked at the married couple. "You're husband and wife legally. Ready to make it public?" They both nodded. He straightened up and looked at the audience. "All right you miscreants! Shut up!" The chamber cheered and quieted down. To Tofu and Kasumi, he said: "Turn and face each other and hold hands." As they did, Ryuu came forward and slapped a set of handcuffs on the couple, tying them together by the wrists. The audience roared their approval.

"Really!" Kasumi laughed.

"Oh come on!" Tofu added.

"Just preventing escapes," Sanu noted. He accepted a book from Ryuu and said dramatically: "All right, let's see…marriage vows… marriage vows…" He turned to a bookmarked page. "Ah, here we go…" In a loud voice, he proclaimed:

 _"Hear ye! Hear ye! We are gathered today to witness the uniting of one man and one woman in the bonds of Matrimony. If anyone should know why this couple should not be married, let him or her speak now, or forever hold their peace!"_

Soun Tendo now found himself facing an array of blunt weapons. "Hey!" he protested. "I'm not saying a word!" The people holding the weapons (including his youngest daughter) only withdrew the weapons a little.

"Hearing no objections," Sanu said as he turned to Tofu. Then the judge proclaimed in a deep voice:

 _"Tofu Ono, as the Groom, you are marrying this woman and becoming her partner. Do you promise to love this woman, respect this woman, comfort this woman, and help this woman, during times of peace and during times of sickness until death do you part?"_ (3)

Tofu looked adoringly at Kasumi as he said proudly: "I do!"

Sanu turned to Kasumi, who had tears standing in her eyes. A quick laugh burst from her as the judge said quietly to her: "Yes, he can be trained." Tofu just winked at her. Sanu straightened and proclaimed again:

 _"Kasumi Tendo, as the Bride, you are marrying this man and becoming his partner. Do you promise to love this man, respect this man, comfort this man, and help this man, during times of peace and during times of sickness until death do you part?"_

Kasumi was almost shouting as she said: "I do!"

The judge nodded and then motioned to Ryuu to take off the handcuffs. Once the assassin had done that, the judge declared:

 _"Then, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution of Japan and its people, I hereby declare you husband and wife!"_

He gave a stage bow to the couple and said in overblown tones: "You may kiss the bride!"

Tofu did just that to the thunderous applause and cheering of the courtroom….

* * *

Ciren and Inspector Ojima moved together among Tofu's "Rogue's Gallery" with a cautious eye open. However, neither of them sensed any hostility from the crowd. For the most part, these men and women were political animals - they strove to keep their hands clean. Many of them, such as the doctors and hospital administrators who had battled Tofu, were not violent people in any physical sense of the word; their weapons were their tongues and social/business connections. Others who were more physically dangerous, such as the Yakuza and detectives Tofu had out-maneuvered, were not even thinking about attacking Tofu in front of so many witnesses and most of them believed Tofu's "uncle" was their Opponent - not the "nephew". To tell the truth though, none of them hated Tofu (in either incarnation) - Judge Sanu had been very picky about the Guest List. Everyone present had a grudging admiration for the disguised Kitsune, and some even liked him. All of them were happy about the marriage - they believed (probably correctly) it locked Tofu into his Nerima Clinic and allowed them to safely draw big red circles around him and his.

"Now, there's something you don't see every day," the inspector noted to Ciren. He was wearing his parade uniform and Ciren thought he looked splendid in it.

"What's that?" she asked as she brushed some crumbs off of the powder blue silk dress she wore.

Ojima indicated Sanu standing with his bodyguard and chatting with what appeared to be one of the many businessmen here. However, Ciren's eyes immediately identified him as a Yakuza Oyabun. "That Oyabun has a 'hit' out on the judge and the judge knows it. Not only that, the Oyabun knows the judge knows."

"And Sanu hasn't had him arrested?" she quizzed.

"Nope. The hired hitman is standing next to the judge, too. He's also the judge's bodyguard," Ojima answered.

"O.K…." Ciren drawled. "Doesn't the hitman usually get in trouble - like maybe killed - for not performing the assassination?"

"Not this one," Ojima responded again. "He attempts an assassination every day - often twice. Just doesn't work."

Ciren raised an eyebrow at the inspector. "And what happens to the assassin if he actually succeeds?" she asked, jumping to the heart of the matter.

"His Oyabun will promptly kill him," Ojima grinned.

Ciren rolled her eyes. "Why is nothing simple in this city? All right, let's hear the story. Ojima proceeded to fill her in on the judge's life. At the end of it, she looked exasperatedly at her boyfriend and sighed: "Gods, and people say I'm messed up. Why didn't Sanu end up here sooner? He was made for Nerima." (4)

"If you tell him that, he'll have you thrown in jail for thirty days," Ojima laughed.

"He'll have to catch me first," she stated mischievously. She changed the subject by indicating the line of Yakuza standing nervously in front of Akane and Ranma waiting to talk to the couple. Nabiki, Mousse, and an upper-level Yakuza businessman stood with them as the couple politely received each member of the line. "What's up with that?" she asked.

"That's your fault," he told her with a smirk.

"Say what?"

"You went and rented that training room in Itabashi," he responded.

"And…" she prompted.

"The Yakuza Ranma trashed last summer came from Itabashi," he grinned. (5)

"Oh crap…" she moaned.

"Yep," he gloated. "They think Ranma's encroaching on their territory and planning to rain hell on them. I've never seen any of the Yakuza so frightened. The Oyabun whose men tried to kidnap Akane apologized profusely to her - his head nearly banged on the ground his bow was so deep. He claimed over and over that he never authorized the kidnapping. He begged for forgiveness and swore to keep all of his men out of Nerima if she would accept his apology. She did with a stern face - and glowing eyes which caused him to swallow hard."

Ciren brightened. "Feeling a little out of his depth?" she said understatedly.

"You could say that," Ojima smirked. "Then he humbly suggested that our couple should build up the Nerima dojo before expanding outside the Ward. He pointed out that they were just getting started and that it would be better business-wise to make smaller, more solid steps. Ranma answered that there were probably plenty of small businesses who could use his services - the world was a dangerous place after all. I've never seen an Oyabun shake before - they are usually pretty cold-blooded." It was obvious Ojima enjoyed the sight. He continued: "Nabiki chimed in then and said that one way to keep Ranma in Nerima was to make sure his services weren't competitive. The Oyabun immediately picked up on that and said that he would thereby offer free protection to every small business under a certain value. Ranma gave the smallest nod to Nabiki and she bargained with the Oyabun on the threshold. The end result was that Ranma would keep the training room in Itabashi for special students, but not offer any other services - so long as the Oyabun kept his word. The Oyabun was very relieved - for a small loss of business, he gets to keep Nerima out of his hair."

"And Ranma doesn't have to spend the rest of his life being a vigilante," Ciren noted. "That's not exactly the Japanese way."

Ojima shrugged. "We discourage taking the law into your own hands," he agreed. "And Bushido is big on proper order."

"So, what's with the line of Yakuza?" she asked.

"They all have domains bordering on Nerima, and they want to cut the same deal," Ojima answered. "The one standing next to Nabiki is from the Itabashi group and he's there to make sure the terms are all equivalent; this way there are no favorites."

"I'm not sure about that," Ciren laughed. "Akane let the Itabashi Oyabun keep his head despite his men attempting to kidnap her. I don't think she'll let the next one off though."

"I hope not," Ojima stated grimly.

"Hey, I thought you discourage taking the law into your own hands," she teased him.

"Ah, but in Nerima… I am the Law," he told her with a side-long glance that caused her to laugh again.

"Yeah - that pirate flag I gave you for Christmas is so appropriate," she shot back.

* * *

Jakaro looked down on the gathering from where he was hidden. He was also grinning like a madman. "One wedding down, one to go," he thought in gleeful satisfaction.

* * *

A/N: Footnotes:

(1) Part of the spillover from "The Other Side of the Looking Glass."

(2) Happened in "The Destruction of Ranma Saotome - Combustion".

(3) Closest I could come to a proper English-formatted version of a standard non-religious set of Japanese vows (I'm sure they were properly formatted for Japanese). I found the same rough translation from two unrelated sources, so hopefully this is somewhat accurate.

(4) As described in "The Destruction of Ranma Saotome - Detonation".

(5) As described in "Her Mother's Daughter".

* * *

A/N: And so ends Kasumi's and Tofu's first wedding. As for the second, that's a whole other story that we'll cover Elsewhere. It's going to happen, but it really needs it's own space. First, we need to go back a few days and cover a little clash that happened between Toshio Kuno and Henna the Amazon - one that dragged Ranma and Akane into it. You might also want to see how an understanding occurred between Nodoka and Toshio. See you in a week's time for the start of that short story (still don't have a good title...)


End file.
